(no subject)
Well, after spending 5 days sick in bed I have managed to accomplish one thing -- reading my way thru 4 books during the 4 hours each day that I wasn't sleeping. Of course Deirdre the cat was delighted with my head cold since not only did she have company all day but company that was on her sleep schedule. And that was probably the best part of it -- me sleeping in a cocoon of blankets with DeeDee curled up on my hip.
During my brief periods of wakefulness, I managed to finish the following:
To Play a Fool, by Laurie R. King. The second in the Kate Martinelli series, I've enjoyed it the most so far. The story begins with the death of a dog that's the companion of a homeless man, followed shortly by the man's death. The prime suspect appears to be another homeless, and apparently mentally unhinged, man who speaks only in quotations which makes him incredibly difficult to question. The process of unraveling his story and getting to the bottom of the murders (there are eventually 2 homeless people killed) was truly fascinating for me.
The Awakening, and selected short fiction, by Kate Chopin. The Awakening is a well-written story but I just couldn't work up any interest for the main character, who struck me as one of those essentially useless people -- in Edna Pontellier's case a woman who was completely unsuited to being either a wife or mother (which, lets face it, some of us aren't) but leeched off the benefits of domesticity while failing to fulfill the roles. When she finally drowns herself in the sea, apparently because she had nothing better to do that day, the strongest reaction I can manage is "she's dead, so what?". I know I'm probably being unfair to the story, or not understanding it at all, but I do think Willa Cather is right that this is an American Bovary, and like the original, just as unsympathetic.
However, I will recommend reading this book for two reasons -- 1) it is an American classic, and 2) the writing is very good:
on the influence of bugs: The mosquitoes made merry over her, biting her firm, round arms and nipping at her bare insteps. The little stinging, buzzing imps succeeded in dispelling a mood which might have held her there in the darkness half a night longer.
on selecting a husband: Her marriage to Leonce Pontellier was purely an accident, in this respect resembling many other marriages which masquerade as the decrees of Fate. It was in the midst of her secret great passion that she met him. He fell in love, as men are in the habit of doing, and pressed his suit with an earnestness and an ardor which left nothing to be desired. He pleased her; his absolute devotion flattered her. She fancied there was a sympathy of thought and taste between them, in which fancy she was mistaken. Add to this the violent opposition of her father and her sister Margaret to her marriage with a Catholic, and we need see no further for the motives which led her to accept Monsieur Pontellier for her husband.
on husband/wife relations: "You are too lenient, too lenient by far, Leonce," asserted the Colonel. "Authority, coercion are what is needed. Put your foot down good and hard, the only way to manage a wife. Take my word for it." The Colonel was perhaps unaware that he had coerced his own wife into her grave. Mr. Pontellier had a vague suspicion of it which he thought it needless to mention at that late day.
(I had to interrupt this to go to a doctor's appointment and, four hours, one inhaler and a new set of pills later, I've been put on continued bedrest until next Tuesday. The irony of this is that I'd decided against taking a week's leave for vacation this month and now I have one, like it or not.)
Also finished the two Schlessinger books, Stop Whining, Start Living and How to Survive a Shark Attack (on land). They were both about what I expected. Stop Whining was nothing she hadn't written many time before in many other books and the entire content is pretty much summed up in the title, leaving out only the information ". . . because whining is a waste of time".
The Shark Attack book was interesting mostly because of what it doesn't say. I was right in that it's mostly complaints about how she's been abused and wronged by so many and emerged triumphant, her truth proven for all to see.
Problem is, of course, when people tell you how they've been wronged and triumphed you're only getting one side of the story and who's to say how things might skew if the rest of the tale were available? For instance, Bill Ballance and the nudie photos. I'm sure nearly everyone remembers this and granted it was a crass thing to do and Ballance himself later regretted it (tho not enough to apologize to Schlessinger).
It seems to me Schlessinger had a hand in her own nudie embarrassment by cutting Ballance, the man who'd given her a start in radio as well as being a former lover, off cold as soon as he was no longer useful to her. I remember comments surfacing from former friends and her sister (there's someone who's side of things I'd like to hear) that this was a common practice of Dr. Laura's.
And then there's the banner she flies under of conservative morality. Nothing wrong with that, as long as you're upfront and honest about your own falls from grace with it and what you've gained from those falls. Leave out that honesty and yes, you're headed for a comeupance and rightly so.
I think Schlessinger would agree that the best things in her life, her marriage and her son, came to her by breaking her own rules. Her husband was a married man with three children when he and Dr. L began their affair, which turned into a 9-year shack-up before they married. Their son Deryk was conceived while they were still unmarried. I have to wonder, if Schlessinger were given a chance to do it all over again, would she really do it differently? Especially given that the son she dotes on is the result of the coming together of two specific people at one specific time?
A lot of good can happen from following the rules, a lot of good can happen from breaking them. I'd venture to say a lot of bad can happen from following and breaking the rules as well. All I know is there are no guarantees, no insurance, so stop looking for it. You do the best you can not to be a dick while bearing in mind that life is no end of ironic.
During my brief periods of wakefulness, I managed to finish the following:
To Play a Fool, by Laurie R. King. The second in the Kate Martinelli series, I've enjoyed it the most so far. The story begins with the death of a dog that's the companion of a homeless man, followed shortly by the man's death. The prime suspect appears to be another homeless, and apparently mentally unhinged, man who speaks only in quotations which makes him incredibly difficult to question. The process of unraveling his story and getting to the bottom of the murders (there are eventually 2 homeless people killed) was truly fascinating for me.
The Awakening, and selected short fiction, by Kate Chopin. The Awakening is a well-written story but I just couldn't work up any interest for the main character, who struck me as one of those essentially useless people -- in Edna Pontellier's case a woman who was completely unsuited to being either a wife or mother (which, lets face it, some of us aren't) but leeched off the benefits of domesticity while failing to fulfill the roles. When she finally drowns herself in the sea, apparently because she had nothing better to do that day, the strongest reaction I can manage is "she's dead, so what?". I know I'm probably being unfair to the story, or not understanding it at all, but I do think Willa Cather is right that this is an American Bovary, and like the original, just as unsympathetic.
However, I will recommend reading this book for two reasons -- 1) it is an American classic, and 2) the writing is very good:
on the influence of bugs: The mosquitoes made merry over her, biting her firm, round arms and nipping at her bare insteps. The little stinging, buzzing imps succeeded in dispelling a mood which might have held her there in the darkness half a night longer.
on selecting a husband: Her marriage to Leonce Pontellier was purely an accident, in this respect resembling many other marriages which masquerade as the decrees of Fate. It was in the midst of her secret great passion that she met him. He fell in love, as men are in the habit of doing, and pressed his suit with an earnestness and an ardor which left nothing to be desired. He pleased her; his absolute devotion flattered her. She fancied there was a sympathy of thought and taste between them, in which fancy she was mistaken. Add to this the violent opposition of her father and her sister Margaret to her marriage with a Catholic, and we need see no further for the motives which led her to accept Monsieur Pontellier for her husband.
on husband/wife relations: "You are too lenient, too lenient by far, Leonce," asserted the Colonel. "Authority, coercion are what is needed. Put your foot down good and hard, the only way to manage a wife. Take my word for it." The Colonel was perhaps unaware that he had coerced his own wife into her grave. Mr. Pontellier had a vague suspicion of it which he thought it needless to mention at that late day.
(I had to interrupt this to go to a doctor's appointment and, four hours, one inhaler and a new set of pills later, I've been put on continued bedrest until next Tuesday. The irony of this is that I'd decided against taking a week's leave for vacation this month and now I have one, like it or not.)
Also finished the two Schlessinger books, Stop Whining, Start Living and How to Survive a Shark Attack (on land). They were both about what I expected. Stop Whining was nothing she hadn't written many time before in many other books and the entire content is pretty much summed up in the title, leaving out only the information ". . . because whining is a waste of time".
The Shark Attack book was interesting mostly because of what it doesn't say. I was right in that it's mostly complaints about how she's been abused and wronged by so many and emerged triumphant, her truth proven for all to see.
Problem is, of course, when people tell you how they've been wronged and triumphed you're only getting one side of the story and who's to say how things might skew if the rest of the tale were available? For instance, Bill Ballance and the nudie photos. I'm sure nearly everyone remembers this and granted it was a crass thing to do and Ballance himself later regretted it (tho not enough to apologize to Schlessinger).
It seems to me Schlessinger had a hand in her own nudie embarrassment by cutting Ballance, the man who'd given her a start in radio as well as being a former lover, off cold as soon as he was no longer useful to her. I remember comments surfacing from former friends and her sister (there's someone who's side of things I'd like to hear) that this was a common practice of Dr. Laura's.
And then there's the banner she flies under of conservative morality. Nothing wrong with that, as long as you're upfront and honest about your own falls from grace with it and what you've gained from those falls. Leave out that honesty and yes, you're headed for a comeupance and rightly so.
I think Schlessinger would agree that the best things in her life, her marriage and her son, came to her by breaking her own rules. Her husband was a married man with three children when he and Dr. L began their affair, which turned into a 9-year shack-up before they married. Their son Deryk was conceived while they were still unmarried. I have to wonder, if Schlessinger were given a chance to do it all over again, would she really do it differently? Especially given that the son she dotes on is the result of the coming together of two specific people at one specific time?
A lot of good can happen from following the rules, a lot of good can happen from breaking them. I'd venture to say a lot of bad can happen from following and breaking the rules as well. All I know is there are no guarantees, no insurance, so stop looking for it. You do the best you can not to be a dick while bearing in mind that life is no end of ironic.