Hey y'all. Sorry that it has been so long. It got a little hectic toward the beginning of the month.
SKate's selection for me for the Book Club was David Sedaris' When You Are Engulfed In Flames. I was not familiar with any of his earlier work. All that I knew about him was that he was an author and his sister was Amy. I am so glad that SKate loaned me this book, because I probably never would have taken it upon myself to read it. I am a large reader of heavy textbook-esque tomes.
When You Are Engulfed In Flames is a collection of essays about Sedaris' personal and family life. Some of the essays are more exaggerated or fictionalized than others; all are witty and hilarious. The last essay in the book is dedicated to Sedaris' mission to quit smoking - the method involves moving to Japan, and it was a great joy to read. I read some of it over the phone to a friend who had lived in Japan and it made her want to pick it up.
Since I was familiar with Amy Sedaris, she of I Like You fame, it was especially fun to read the vignettes involving her: I knew what she looked like and how she spoke, so it was easy to picture the interchange.
Unfortunately for me, I am at the library computer and I am on a timer, and this is all the room that I have - I have to run home and get ready for work. But I will hopefully be back soon with the month's late Challenge.
Thank you for the book, SKate! I loved it and it made me run out and read all the library had to offer me.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Oh, my dog, it's been two weeks...
Sorry for the lack of updates, gang - I'm currently trying to simultaneously wean the Bean and get her sleep a little better at night. She's finally starting to do both, but I've been like the walking dead for the last month at least. Every time I've thought about doing anything more creative than cooking dinner, my brain has just gone "ugh!" and suggested eating ice cream instead.
But now Bean is sleeping through night (mostly) and I'm feeling human again, so now for my long-promised review of Fun Home by Alison Bechdel.
First, a three line plot synopsis: Bechdel grew up with a somewhat distant, highly inscrutable perfectionist father who revealed his homosexuality to her shortly after she came out of the closet herself. He then died two weeks later. Fun Home is Bechdel's attempt to piece together her father's life against the backdrop of her own childhood and adolescence.
My take on the novel: First of all, I must say that this is the most literate graphic novel I think I've ever read. A lot of the story telling is woven around quotations from Homer, Joyce, Colette, Fitzgerald, Wilde, and Proust. This serves to both enrich the narrative and make the reader wish she was better read. This particular plot device is central to the novel, since Bechdel's father was an English teacher/undertaker and much of their communication to each other comes in the form of books: classics that he gives to his daughter, and in her case of a copy of Kate Millet's Flying unconsciously left for him.
Bechdel weaves these literary themes around the story of her family in the 1960's and 70's, using them to try and explain her father's obsession with their elaborate Victorian house, her mother's withdrawn preoccupation with music and community theater, and the quiet weirdness of the family business (the local funeral parlor, which becomes the "Fun Home" in the Bechdel lexicon). Bechdel also uses them to elaborate on her own childhood struggles with traditional femininity, which later segue into questions about her sexual identity.
This book is a graphic novel, but more than a graphic novel. There are the usual cartoon panels, but the book is also full of original sources from Bechdel's family lore: Photoshopped passport pictures, letters in her father's original hand, and family vacation photos, all slipped into the narrative when necessary. It serves as an almost disturbing grounding for the story, constantly reminding you that these people are not a figment of Bechdel's imagination - they are as real as your own mom, dad, and siblings.
This revelation is sometime unwelcome during her recounting of her early years with her father. The man comes off as distant and forbidding - the panels almost emit the coldness and tension of life with an unfulfilled, unhappy patriarch. Bechdel manages to slowly bring the reader to an understanding with that man, probably mirroring her own journey of discovery with him, but it takes a while to shed that first grim impression. I was still wallowing in an intense dislike of him until the final section of the book.
This really is a hell of a novel. The flyleaf of Inky's copy of Fun Home lists all of the awards and recognitions it received in 2006, and it richly deserved each one. It wasn't an easy read at times, but it rewards the reader who stays with Bechdel and her struggling parents and siblings. I'm glad I went along for the ride. And I'm glad Inky gave me the wheels :)
All right, folks, it's April, and Inky's up for the next challenge. She'll have it up ASAP. I'm hoping it involves the beach. I'm ready for summer.
But now Bean is sleeping through night (mostly) and I'm feeling human again, so now for my long-promised review of Fun Home by Alison Bechdel.
First, a three line plot synopsis: Bechdel grew up with a somewhat distant, highly inscrutable perfectionist father who revealed his homosexuality to her shortly after she came out of the closet herself. He then died two weeks later. Fun Home is Bechdel's attempt to piece together her father's life against the backdrop of her own childhood and adolescence.
My take on the novel: First of all, I must say that this is the most literate graphic novel I think I've ever read. A lot of the story telling is woven around quotations from Homer, Joyce, Colette, Fitzgerald, Wilde, and Proust. This serves to both enrich the narrative and make the reader wish she was better read. This particular plot device is central to the novel, since Bechdel's father was an English teacher/undertaker and much of their communication to each other comes in the form of books: classics that he gives to his daughter, and in her case of a copy of Kate Millet's Flying unconsciously left for him.
Bechdel weaves these literary themes around the story of her family in the 1960's and 70's, using them to try and explain her father's obsession with their elaborate Victorian house, her mother's withdrawn preoccupation with music and community theater, and the quiet weirdness of the family business (the local funeral parlor, which becomes the "Fun Home" in the Bechdel lexicon). Bechdel also uses them to elaborate on her own childhood struggles with traditional femininity, which later segue into questions about her sexual identity.
This book is a graphic novel, but more than a graphic novel. There are the usual cartoon panels, but the book is also full of original sources from Bechdel's family lore: Photoshopped passport pictures, letters in her father's original hand, and family vacation photos, all slipped into the narrative when necessary. It serves as an almost disturbing grounding for the story, constantly reminding you that these people are not a figment of Bechdel's imagination - they are as real as your own mom, dad, and siblings.
This revelation is sometime unwelcome during her recounting of her early years with her father. The man comes off as distant and forbidding - the panels almost emit the coldness and tension of life with an unfulfilled, unhappy patriarch. Bechdel manages to slowly bring the reader to an understanding with that man, probably mirroring her own journey of discovery with him, but it takes a while to shed that first grim impression. I was still wallowing in an intense dislike of him until the final section of the book.
This really is a hell of a novel. The flyleaf of Inky's copy of Fun Home lists all of the awards and recognitions it received in 2006, and it richly deserved each one. It wasn't an easy read at times, but it rewards the reader who stays with Bechdel and her struggling parents and siblings. I'm glad I went along for the ride. And I'm glad Inky gave me the wheels :)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
All right, folks, it's April, and Inky's up for the next challenge. She'll have it up ASAP. I'm hoping it involves the beach. I'm ready for summer.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Our Selections
Hi, guys! Inky is currently sans computer, so I'll be posting solo for a bit until we figure out a creative way around the public library's "personal content" filters (and what they consider personal content is extremely arbitrary, but that's another matter altogether).
We've made our selections for the book club, and the swap went down at Inky's swinging new pad last Monday.
Inky's choice: Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel
My selection: When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
I finished Fun Home about a week ago, and I'm still turning it over in my brain. It's a complicated story, and probably the most literary graphic novel that I've ever read. I don't want to post a simple review because it deserves some serious brain-power, so I'm aiming to have some well considered thoughts ready for posting next week.
I will, however, say that I think it's funny that Inky and I both chose gay-friendly content for each other to read. Truly, great minds do think alike :)
We've made our selections for the book club, and the swap went down at Inky's swinging new pad last Monday.
Inky's choice: Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison BechdelMy selection: When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
I finished Fun Home about a week ago, and I'm still turning it over in my brain. It's a complicated story, and probably the most literary graphic novel that I've ever read. I don't want to post a simple review because it deserves some serious brain-power, so I'm aiming to have some well considered thoughts ready for posting next week.
I will, however, say that I think it's funny that Inky and I both chose gay-friendly content for each other to read. Truly, great minds do think alike :)
Saturday, March 7, 2009
March Challenge
Hey, guys! Long time, no post, I know - but I'm back!
I've recently rediscovered the joys of the library, so this month's event is reading-themed.
March Challenge: The Inky and SKate book club!
Inky and I will each pick out a book for the other to read. We'll report on our findings as we go along. Hopefully we'll be able to enlighten and entertain each other - or at least establish that maybe we shouldn't trade books that often.
I'll be heading up to Fernandina to check out Inky's groovy new pad this coming week, so I'll bring my selection to her then. I'm excited about what she'll pick for me.
I've recently rediscovered the joys of the library, so this month's event is reading-themed.
March Challenge: The Inky and SKate book club!
Inky and I will each pick out a book for the other to read. We'll report on our findings as we go along. Hopefully we'll be able to enlighten and entertain each other - or at least establish that maybe we shouldn't trade books that often.
I'll be heading up to Fernandina to check out Inky's groovy new pad this coming week, so I'll bring my selection to her then. I'm excited about what she'll pick for me.
go shawty it yo b-day
Happy Birthday to my bestest friend SKate! I hope it is a happy one and I wish you many more!
Soon we will have the March Challenge. I can't wait to see what it will be!
xo
Inky
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