Wine & Books
First off, my friend djvitruvius is hosting a wine tasting at Visible Voice Books in Tremont on Friday, February 27. This is his third one. Go now, so you can say you were there at the beginning of his reign of terror. I'll hopefully make it too.
Now, on to books. February's classic book was originally slated to be All Quiet on the Western Front, but I decided that one anti-war book wasn't enough so that I threw in Slaugherhouse-Five as well. Both were excellent, albeit in totally different ways. I'm not sure how I got this far without reading any of Vonnegut's novels (I'd read much of his short fiction), but I'm going to have to read some more as I greatly enjoyed his interesting meanderings in this one. All Quiet was totally different; it reads like the elegy for dying youth that it is. I don't know if it is really the "Greatest War Novel" ever as the cover claimed, but it is certainly on the short list.
On to the Bard. January's Shakespeare was the Two Gentlemen of Verona, which as I noted at the time has some 'problematic' sequences, like a guy offering his girlfriend to his best friend... AFTER said best friend tried to rape her. The Taming of the Shrew is marginally less misogynistic, but lord it still has some questionable sequences.
Now, I'm not talking about the whole "Baptista sells off his daughters for money" gambit; marriage was a business transaction, so you write it off as a product of its times. What is really out there is Petruchio brainwashing Kate. Yep, you read that right. In order to tame her 'shrewish' (read: assertive and slightly bitchy) ways, Petruchio locks his new bride in a room, doesn't let her sleep for days on end, denies her all food and acts like a raving lunatic around other people. There's a reason that sleep deprivation is an approved method of torture - it works. Yet everyone else applauds this when Kate is tamed; Hortensio even says he's going to try it as well. Yikes. Was that really acceptable behavior in 1595?
This leads me to wonder if the reason 'Shrew' isn't typically one of the plays covered in high school is because modern sensibilities would frown on that sort of thing. In some ways this is a shame. Before Kate is tamed, there's some hilarious give & play between her and her suitors and family, with her getting the better of every exchange of dirty puns. Throw in some well played 'characters in disguise' sequences and this is quite enjoyable to read and to watch. I saw it at Stan Hywet in 2002 - and they really downplayed the brainwashing. Imagine that.
Anyway, the resolution has been kept for another month. Next up for Shakespeare is The First Part of the Contention of the Two Famous Houses of York and Lancaster, aka The Second Part of Henry VI. Yes, according to the Norton Shakespeare, Part 2 came before Part I chronologically. Since most of the historical figures are unknown to me, I suspect it's a moot point. No decision has been made on the classic book yet; I'm thinking some Dickens or more Vonnegut but suggestions are welcome.
Now, on to books. February's classic book was originally slated to be All Quiet on the Western Front, but I decided that one anti-war book wasn't enough so that I threw in Slaugherhouse-Five as well. Both were excellent, albeit in totally different ways. I'm not sure how I got this far without reading any of Vonnegut's novels (I'd read much of his short fiction), but I'm going to have to read some more as I greatly enjoyed his interesting meanderings in this one. All Quiet was totally different; it reads like the elegy for dying youth that it is. I don't know if it is really the "Greatest War Novel" ever as the cover claimed, but it is certainly on the short list.
On to the Bard. January's Shakespeare was the Two Gentlemen of Verona, which as I noted at the time has some 'problematic' sequences, like a guy offering his girlfriend to his best friend... AFTER said best friend tried to rape her. The Taming of the Shrew is marginally less misogynistic, but lord it still has some questionable sequences.
Now, I'm not talking about the whole "Baptista sells off his daughters for money" gambit; marriage was a business transaction, so you write it off as a product of its times. What is really out there is Petruchio brainwashing Kate. Yep, you read that right. In order to tame her 'shrewish' (read: assertive and slightly bitchy) ways, Petruchio locks his new bride in a room, doesn't let her sleep for days on end, denies her all food and acts like a raving lunatic around other people. There's a reason that sleep deprivation is an approved method of torture - it works. Yet everyone else applauds this when Kate is tamed; Hortensio even says he's going to try it as well. Yikes. Was that really acceptable behavior in 1595?
This leads me to wonder if the reason 'Shrew' isn't typically one of the plays covered in high school is because modern sensibilities would frown on that sort of thing. In some ways this is a shame. Before Kate is tamed, there's some hilarious give & play between her and her suitors and family, with her getting the better of every exchange of dirty puns. Throw in some well played 'characters in disguise' sequences and this is quite enjoyable to read and to watch. I saw it at Stan Hywet in 2002 - and they really downplayed the brainwashing. Imagine that.
Anyway, the resolution has been kept for another month. Next up for Shakespeare is The First Part of the Contention of the Two Famous Houses of York and Lancaster, aka The Second Part of Henry VI. Yes, according to the Norton Shakespeare, Part 2 came before Part I chronologically. Since most of the historical figures are unknown to me, I suspect it's a moot point. No decision has been made on the classic book yet; I'm thinking some Dickens or more Vonnegut but suggestions are welcome.