Books I Read in September
Because I might as well attempt to catch up...the books aren't any less good or bad because of my tardiness.
September
1. Gypsies: Wanderers of the World by Bart McDowell - A National Geographic book, and an extremely well-done one. McDowell travels with a friend of his, a professor who descends from the Romany and knows much about their history and culture. (I can't remember the professor's name!) In any case, they travel throughout Europe catching up with gypsy bands and talking with them about their experiences with locals (both strife and friendship). You see the gypsies both through the outsider's eyes and through the professor's eyes, as he manages to find similarities among other gypsies as far away as India. Also, it's National Geographic, so the photography is exceptional.
2. Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel - There's not a lot I can say that hasn't been said in much better prose that I can muster. Read it, if you haven't.
3. The Gilded Chamber by Rebecca Kohn - Hm. An interesting retelling of Queen Esther's life, focusing greatly on her entry into the harem of King Xerxes. It spares no lush detail, but is thankfully not light on character development, and does a good job of showing characters that flit between good and evil acts.
4. Geisha, A Life by Mineko Iwasaki - The account of the life upon which Arthur Golden drew some source material for "Memoirs of a Geisha." It's an amazing story, especially when you consider the sheltered life Iwasaki came from, and then thrust into the spotlight. Years later, aware of her own naivete, and clued into the power struggles around her, Iwasaki tells of a glamorous life, but not a charmed one. She had to sweat for every cent she earned, and learn to negotiate the power struggles within her okiya. A pretty good read.
5. The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory - Philippa Gregory, why couldn't I quit you? I suppose it's because I hadn't read this book so far. Gregory had previously done an excellent job of world-building - the historical personages she used were actually interacting - not just watching the greats of the age maneuver. For this, I managed to swallow back my extreme irritation at the madonna-whore classifications of all women in her books. Now, it's like she's not putting any effort into it anymore. She's simply narrating history back as it arrives in letters and communications to her women characters. Boring.
6. Fifth Avenue, 5 a.m. - Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman by Sam Wasson - What is a kook? According to this, it's the word that movie producers use when the want to tell the story of a single woman having sex with different men, but need to sell it to the conservative censors. It's an interesting look at the times, the people, and the making of the movie. It also really made me go out and reread the Capote story again.
7. Twinkie, Deconstructed by Steve Ettlinger - An excellent, exhaustive, eye-opening look at all the little ingredients that we consume every day in processed food - where it comes from, how it's made, and why it's used to make a Twinkie. Actually, when you consider all that work, it's amazing we have processed food at all.
8. Autobiography of a Geisha by Sayo Masuda - Ever read "The Color Purple"? Then read this book. This will crush your heart and make it new again. Iwasaki's autobiography was the story of a successful geisha. Masuda's is the tale of a more typical geisha - one who struggles with backbreaking poverty, learns to deal with prostitution, who fights for survival at the tender age of six. Every time you think that it can't possibly get worse - it manages to. And yet, Masuda's spirit rises back up to fight for survival, to become a storyteller in very stark, matter-of-fact detail. Excellent.
9. Juliet by Anne Fortier - A silly little read - bounces back and forth between trying to be a romance and a lighter version of "The Da Vinci Code." It ends up coming off like a teen romance novel instead of the Shakespearean mystery that it aims at. The attempts at historical recreation of the city and the characters of Shakespeare's play are actually not bad - but when it returns to present-day (where most of the book is spent), it fizzles. Things aren't helped by "Julie" Jacobs' pursuit of a local Romeo - their "forbidden-but-destined-romance" reads unnervingly like Twilight. The one bright spot is Julie's twin Janice, who kind of acts like that person you wish was in Twilight telling Bella what an idiot she is and trying to kick her in the right direction.