The Untouchable

The Untouchable is a novel by award-winning author John Banville. I read and loved The Sea and picked up this book on the strength of that experience. The writing is as wonderful as I expected. I'm not as taken by the subject, which is a fictionalized account of the Cambridge spy ring as told in retrospect by one of the major players.

from the back of the book:

One of the most dazzling and inventive writers now working in English takes on the enigma of the Cambridge spies in a novel of exquisite menace, biting social comedy, and vertiginous moral complexity. The narrator is the elderly Victor Masakell, formerly of British intelligence, for many years art expert to the Queen. Now he has been unmasked as a Russian agent and subjected to a disgrace that is almost a kind of death. But at whose instigation?

As Maskell retraces his torturous path from his recruitment at Cambridge to the airless upper regions of the establishment, we discover a figure of manifold doubleness: Irishman and Englishman; husband, father, and lover of men; betrayer and dupe. Beautifully written, filled with convincing fictional portraits of Maskell's co-conspirators, and vibrant with the mysteries of loyalty and identity, The Untouchables places John Banville in the select company of both Conrad and le Carre.

The Guardian explains the roman-à-clef genre, saying,

It is a genre that has long offered readers the pleasure of trying to identify its personages, of being in the know. It originated at the beginning of the 18th century with so-called "secret histories": scandalous narratives of the doings of courtiers. The disguising of identities appeared tactful but was actually provocative. In the 19th century the genre kept a tincture of the forbidden. Lady Caroline Lamb titillated a Regency readership with a fictionalised version of her entanglement with Byron, Glenarvon (1816) (the title is the "disguised" name of the poet). Benjamin Disraeli also turned Byron's exciting life into fiction in Venetia (1837), and then wrote a political roman-à-clef, Coningsby (1844), which prompted the publication of "keys" to its characters.

A sense of revealing what has been secret, of broaching the forbidden, still attaches to the roman-à-clef.

The NYT closes their glowing review with this:

There is much, much more to celebrate in this extraordinary book: prose of a glorious verve and originality, in the service of a richly painted portrait of a man and a period and a society and a political order -- the whole governed by an exquisite thematic design. Contemporary fiction gets no better than this.

Publishers Weekly says, "It is seldom one encounters as keen a literary intelligence as Banville's embarked upon as compulsively entertaining--and thought-provoking--a tale as this." Kirkus Reviews calls it "An icy, detailed portrait of a traitor, and a precise meditation on the nature of belief and betrayal."

Journey to Italy

Journey to Italy is a 1954 French/Italian English-language film directed by Roberto Rossellini and starring Ingrid Bergman and George Sanders. Just soak in that combination for a moment. How can you go wrong? This is the story of a wealthy businessman and his wife on a trip to Italy to arrange the sale of property left to them when an uncle died. That their marriage is in trouble becomes clear fairly soon, and how they deal with their problems is the focus of the film. Well worth watching.

via Youtube:

Senses of Cinema says,

Voyage to Italy succeeds on every level because it is itself a voyage of discovery, in which Rossellini is trying to capture the actual dynamics between his two leading actors, and to follow them as they attempt to make a connection with each other, and with the Italian countryside as well.

FilmRef.com calls it "a graceful, understated portrait on the dissolution of marriage". The Guardian begins its review with this: "In terms of cinema history, Roberto Rossellini's Journey To Italy (1954) is one of the most important films you've never seen." Slant Magazine focuses on Bergman.

The Village Voice says, "Voyage to Italy is close to watching actual strangers suffer loneliness despite being together." DVD Talk says, "It has been described as a Michelangelo Antonioni-style glimpse into the existential void." Time Out calls it "A founding influence on the French New Wave and adored by Martin Scorsese".

Rotten Tomatoes has a critics score of 95%.

The Bat

The Bat is a 1997 detective mystery by Jo Nesbo. the first in the Harry Hole series. The plot is a bit twisty, the characters are people you can care about, and the writing is straightforward without the awkwardness I sometimes see in translated works. The setting grants some insight into foreign culture and history. I've already picked up books 2 and 3 and will eventually read them all.

from the back of the book:

The electrifying first appearance of Jo Nesbo's detective, Harry Hole.

Inspector Harry Hole of the Oslo Crime Squad is dispatched to Sydney to observe a murder case. Harry is free to offer assistance, but he has firm instructions to stay out of trouble. The victim is a twenty-three-year-old Norwegian woman, a minor celebrity back home. Never one to sit on the sidelines, Harry befriends one of the lead detectives, and one of the witnesses, as he is drawn deeper into the case. Together, they discover that this is only the latest in a string of unsolved murders, and the pattern points towards a psychopath working his way across the country. As they circle closer and closer to the killer, Harry begins to fear that no one is safe, least of all those investigating the case.

Later books in the series were published here years ago, with this initial book being offered only recently. I'm thinking that explains the lack of truly descriptive reviews. The focus seems to be on the later, more familiar works, reviewed as they are released. I'm glad I discovered the detective as the author intended to introduce him. There's an overview at CrimeFictionLover.com.

The Light Fantastic

The Light Fantastic is the 2nd in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. It is a direct sequel to the 1st book and is the only direct sequel in the long-running series. I'm not reading these in order, instead reading them as I come cross them in the book store. This one is the first of Pratchett's books to disappoint me. It has Rincewind and The Luggage, which ought to guarantee my enjoyment. Oddly, it was so forgettable that I discovered as I was writing this post that I'd already read this back in 2008. I seem to have enjoyed it back then, but I still have no memory at all of having read it before. *sigh* My memory isn't that bad, honest. Maybe the series is wearing thin for me.

from the back of the book:

.... only one individual can save the world from a disastrous collision. Unfortunately, the hero happens to be the singularly inept wizard Rincewind, who was last seen falling off the edge of the world....

favorite quotes:

... such questions take time and could be more trouble that they are worth. For example, it is said that someone at a party once asked the famous philosopher Ly Tin Weedle "Why are you here?" and the reply took three years.

....

Rincewind had been generally reckoned by his tutors to be a natural wizard in the same way that fish are natural mountaineers.

....

"I always say home is where you hang your hat."

"Um, no," said Twoflower, always anxious to enlighten. "Where you hang your hat is a hatstand..."

....

"... The important thing about having lots of things to remember is that you've got to go somewhere afterward where you can remember them, you see? You've got to stop. You haven't really been anywhere until you've got back home. I think that's what I mean."

Rincewind ran the sentence across his mind again. It didn't seem any better second time around.

I've read the following books from the series:

1) The Color of Magic
2) The Light Fantastic
3) Equal Rites
4) Mort
5) Sourcery
6) Wyrd Sisters
7) Pyramids
8) Guards! Guards!
18) Masquerade
21) Jingo
33) Going Postal
36) Making Money

X-Files 42

Unexplained phenomena, indeed. Someone should have told Scully and Mulder that the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything was right there all along.

Let's Have Another Cup of Coffee

Let's Have Another Cup of Coffee:

a 1932 song by Irving Berlin, performed in this video by The Glenn Miller Orchestra. Glen Miller was missing in action on this date in 1944. Wikipedia says,

On December 15, 1944, Miller was to fly from the United Kingdom to Paris, France, to play for the soldiers there. His plane, a single-engined UC-64 Norseman, USAAF serial 44-70285, departed from RAF Twinwood Farm in Clapham, on the outskirts of Bedford and disappeared while flying over the English Channel. There were two others on board the plane: Lt. Col. Norman Baessell and pilot John Morgan.

A 2014 article in the Chicago Tribune reported that, despite many theories that had been proposed, Miller's plane crashed because it had a faulty carburetor. The plane's engine had a type of carburetor that was known to be defective in cold weather and had a history of causing crashes in other aircraft by icing up.

Lyrics excerpt:

Just around the corner
There's a rainbow in the sky
So let's have another cup o' coffee
And let's have another piece o' pie!

Please share your drink at Bleubeard and Elizabeth's weekly T party.

The Plague Dogs

The Plague Dogs is a 1982 British feature-length animated adaptation of the Richard Adams book by the same name. The two main characters are dogs that have escaped from a research facility. One of them is voiced by John Hurt.

opening scene:

You can watch the full film online at this link.

Moria gives it 5 out of 5 stars and calls it an "unsung masterpiece". Den of Geek says, "The eye to detail extends beyond just eye-catching visuals."

The NYT praises the visual style and says it's "distinguished by its unusually lifelike animation." Rotten Tomatoes has a 90% audience rating.

L'Atalante

L'Atalante is a 1934 Jean Vigo film about a barge captain who marries a small-town girl and moves her onto the barge with him and his 2-man crew. I think this is a sweet, touching love story that avoids the sappiness and melodrama and cuteness and all other faults often found in love stories.

It's worth noting that the director was only 29 years old and died of TB before this -his only feature film- was released. Let's take a moment and mourn what we lost.

trailer:

Slant Magazine says the film "stands as one of the most beautiful and rich celebrations of human connection in the history of cinema." Senses of Cinema says it is "a film that can barely contain its passion and anarchistic fervour." Empire Online says, "it has a genuinely weird feel, combining dingy realism with an almost magical eroticism. It has improved with age".

The New Yorker says, "It’s no exaggeration to call “L’Atalante” one of the greatest films in the history of cinema." Time Out gives it 5 out of 5 stars and says, "See it and swoon." It's listed in the book 1,001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.

Roger Ebert lists it as a Great Movie and closes his review by saying, "This is the kind of movie you return to like a favorite song, remembering where you were and how it made you feel, and how its feet smelled." Rotten Tomatoes has a critics score of 100%.

Taste of Cherry

Taste of Cherry is a 1997 Iranian film, which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes. This is a deliberate, slowly-paced story about a man who drives around the countryside trying to hire a man to do a delicate task for him. I honestly loved this film and will re-watch it. I found it revelatory.

via Youtube:

Senses of Cinema begins its consideration with this:

[Director] Abbas Kiarostami’s cinema has long been a ‘humanitarian’ one, but not in the often condescending, conventional sense of the word. His cinema carries the utmost respect for an audience as a collection of thinking, intellectualizing individuals: never does he resort to devices intended to blatantly arouse the audience’s emotions, edit didactically to make a political point, or instruct via an obvious narrative structure. His sparse narrative economy comprised of spaces and ellipsis thread together episodes and present experiences that require the audience to make a leap of imagination or understanding.

FilmReference.com says, Taste of Cherry, [director] Kiarostami's eloquent meditation on life and death, is a sublime masterpiece." EW gives it an A and calls it "outstanding".

Roger Ebert gives it one pitiful, lonely star and an unfavorable review. Rotten Tomatoes has a critics score of 83%.

Tai Chi

I've been interested in Tai Chi for years. I've bought DVDs and tried Youtube videos and looked at diagrams, but none of them have worked for me. Here's what Tai Chi looks like if you know what you're doing:

I've recently discovered that a local senior center offers Tai Chi classes 3 days a week. I've signed up and begun attending. They offer a lot more there (art, dancing, yoga...), and I'll probably look into some of the other classes. The building is adjacent to a park with a walking track, and I took these photos last week:

I'm finding the Tai Chi class interesting. The women in the class are friendly and talkative, and the teacher shows concern that we enjoy and understand the process. I'm hoping to learn the forms well enough so that I can practice at home using a DVD.

The Jim Chee Mysteries

The Jim Chee Mysteries is a collection of 3 novels featuring Officer Jim Chee written by Tony Hillerman. Included are People of Darkness (1980), The Dark Wind (1982), and The Ghostway (1984). I enjoy Hillerman's writing and like reading about Jim Chee.

People of Darkness is Jim Chee's first appearance. You can read a thorough plot summary at Wikipedia.

The Dark Wind was adapted as a 1991 film by the same name starring Lou Diamond Phillips as Chee. That film might be a good intro to the world of Jim Chee if you don't want to commit to a book, but you'll be hunting down the books once you've watched it. Here's the movie trailer:

The trailer is dated, certainly, but the film itself has held up well.

Kirkus Reviews calls The Ghostway "one of Hillerman's best Navajo mysteries--keeping suspense, Indian lore, and character in stately yet compelling balance." Together, these 3 books are a great way to dive into Hillerman's Navajo creation. I think the entire series is worth looking for. I've read quite a few so far, including Dance Hall of the Dead (1973), Skinwalkers (1986), and The Sinister Pig (2003).

Tony Hillerman died of pulmonary failure in 2008 at the age of 83, so it's nice that the books he wrote are re-readable. His daughter is continuing the series with books based on Chee's wife (Chee is not married in the 3 books in this volume), but I'm going to skip those.

In Bruges

In Bruges (2008) is either the saddest comedy or the funniest tragedy I've ever seen, but I'm going with tragedy. Wikipedia describes it as a neo-noir black comedy crime film. It stars Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, and Ralph Fiennes

Words really fail me in expressing how I feel after having seen this film. And it happens at Christmas-time. I definitely recommend it, and I'll be seeing this one again.

trailer:

DVD Talk concludes,

In Bruges gets better with repeated viewings. This character-driven gangster flick wrings humor and pathos from situations that would have been formulaic in less-competent hands. As it is, writer-director Martin McDonaugh -with the help of some exceptional actors- has fashioned a knockout of a movie.

Roger Ebert gives it 4 out of 4 stars and says,

... it is not only ingenious but almost inevitable the way the screenplay brings all of these destinies together at one place and time. Along the way, there are times of great sadness and poignancy, times of abandon, times of goofiness, and that kind of humor that is really funny because it grows out of character and close observation.

Rolling Stone calls it "literate, lively cinema". Rotten Tomatoes has a critics rating of 84%.

Saying Good-bye to Autumn

We had Thanksgiving dinner with The Newlyweds at their home, and they served me hot cider in that adorable little bluebird cup pictured above. We had ham and turkey and all the trimmings gathered around the coffee table (because they don't have dining room furniture yet) and it was a treat to see them happily nesting in their new space. I didn't get photos of my plate -too anxious to dig in maybe?- but here's my dessert:

After we ate, The Husband and I took their fur-kid Obi:

on a walk to a nearby park:

There are several benches to sit on, including some backless ones:

My mother died on Thanksgiving Day 2 years ago, and I hosted the family gathering last year but found this year's preparations to be filled with sadness for some reason. The Newlyweds' invitation was a God-send. As we say good-bye to the fall season and dig deep into our anticipation of Christmas, I'm trying to be mindful of everything I have to be thankful for. I need to release the sadness and embrace the joy. It's just so much harder than it sounds.

Please join the goings-on at Bluebeard and Elizabeth's T Tuesday gathering. Share your drink of choice and enjoy the fellowship.

Eastern Promises

Eastern Promises is a 2007 gangster film directed by David Cronenberg and starring Viggo Mortensen (one of our favorites) and Naomi Watts. It's critically acclaimed and well worth watching -which isn't always the same thing

You might not think of this movie as a Christmas movie, but it does take place during the holiday season. So we're counting it.

trailer:

The Guardian says, "Eastern Promises is an exciting story about hypocrisy, decency and different kinds of honour, and about the dark underside of globalisation and multiculturalism." Slate praises it and closes with this: "If you saw A History of Violence, you know Mortensen can fuck up a guy something fierce, but till you've seen him do it buck naked and covered in mob tattoos, you haven't lived."

Roger Ebert gives it 4 out of 4 stars, and -calling the casting "pitch-perfect"- says, "The actors and the characters merge and form a reality above and apart from the story, and the result is a film that takes us beyond crime and London and the Russian mafia and into the mystifying realms of human nature." Rotten Tomatoes has a critics score of 89%.

The Steamroller and the Violin

The Steamroller and the Violin is a 1961 short film (c. 45 minutes) directed by Andrei Tarkovsky. A 7 year old violin student develops a special friendship with the steamroller driver who protects him from the bullies. This is a sweet film.

short excerpt:

You can watch the complete film online here.

Senses of Cinema closes its article with this:

Tarkovsky’s film, in which an adult male can ask an unrelated young boy to the cinema with him in all innocence, is clearly a testament to a time of more innocent public discourse. That said, it is tinged with the pervasive sadness and rare moments of joy that make the best of Tarkovsky’s work so powerful.

DVD Talk says,

Whether you are a fan of Andrei Tarkovsky or not The Steamroller and the Violin is worth a look. It is set up as a simple children's tale but has a lot more complexity and subtly than a good number of 'grown-up' films that deal with the subject of atypical friendships.

Slant Magazine says, "The film's strikingly sweet though certainly unsentimental lyricism feels as if it exists in the imagination of a child." Rotten Tomatoes has a critics score of 89%.

Cabaret

The Younger Son hadn't seen this, so we took some time to rectify that. Cabaret is a 1972 musical directed by Bob Fosse and starring Liza Minnelli, Michael York and Joel Grey. My favorite part of this is actually the sub-plot with Fritz and Natalia, which doesn't even get mentioned in most of the plot summaries.

trailer:

Here's If You Could See Her From My Eyes:

FilmReference.com closes with this:

Cabaret is an incredibly innovative film. Now regarded as a classic, the film's use of colour, the garishness of the costumes, the smokiness of the club, the brightness and exaggeration of the makeup emphasize the decadence of the time. The musical score and choreography are well crafted and performed, and are deliberately kept to the stage of the Kit Kat Klub ("Tomorrow Belongs to Me" is the only exception to this). Minnelli performs her songs emotively and convincingly, if anything she is too good for the small, decadent atmosphere of the Klub.

Slant Magazine gives it 4 1/2 out of 5 stars. The BBC opens by saying "The first musical ever to be given an X certificate, Bob Fosse's "Cabaret" launched Liza Minnelli into Hollywood superstardom and reinvented the musical for the Age of Aquarius." FilmSite has some background and a detailed plot summary.

Empire Online concludes: "Winner of eight Academy Awards, this holds up as a great musical of style and sleaze. Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey are electrifying; director Bob Fosse's choreography and the camera work are scintillating." NPR has an interview with Joel Grey in which he talks about the effect the movie had on the entertainment industry.

It's listed in the book 1,001 Movies You Must See Before You Die. Roger Ebert gives it 3 1/2 out of 4 stars and focuses on Liza Minnelli's stellar performance. Rotten Tomatoes has a critics score of 97%.

Interstellar

Interstellar is a 2014 science fiction film directed by Christopher Nolan. Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Bill Irwin, Ellen Burstyn, and Michael Caine star. This is a great science fiction film. I found it predictable because of how familiar I am with science fiction tropes, but that's a good thing. I'd have been disappointed if I'd been wrong, like I'd be disappointed if a romantic comedy ended in tragic horror. I knew what to expect and was very pleased with how well they did it.

trailer:

Moria gives it 5 out of 5 stars and says

In an era where box-office science-fiction is represented almost exclusively by superheroes and mass destruction spectacle, it is a genuine pleasure seeing a film that is rooted in solid science and high-concept science-fiction. We have a film that features such challenging concepts from physics as relativity, gravity and spacetime, time dilation effects, black holes and wormholes, which are a little more than the usual stuff that get served up to the popcorn bucket multiplex crowd.

Empire Online gives it 5 out of 5 stars. Slash Film says, "As Interstellar ends, there’s no doubt you’ve been on a ride. A thoroughly enjoyable and memorable cinematic experience that’s well-made and acted." Rolling Stone gives it 3 1/2 out of 4 stars and praises "how enthralling it is, how gracefully it blends the cosmic and the intimate, how deftly it explores the infinite in the smallest human details."

Roger Ebert's site gives it 3 1/2 out of 4 stars and says the film is "an impressive, at times astonishing movie that overwhelmed me to the point where my usual objections to Nolan's work melted away." Rotten Tomatoes has a critics rating of 71% and an audience rating of 85%.

Say When

Say When is a 2003 novel by Elizabeth Berg. I read and enjoyed Open House (2000) and picked this one up on the strength of my experience with that other book. This, like the other one, is a sad book but one that ends on a note of hope -hope for the future, hope for committed relationships, hope for what family can be in our lives. It's sentimental, but that's not always a bad thing.

from the back of the book:

When is a marriage worth saving and when is it best to let go? When do half-truths turn into full-blown lies? When does betrayal end and passion begin?

Say When is a compelling, complex novel that takes readers into the heart of a modern marriage where companionship and intimacy, and denial and pain, so often collide. "Of course he knew she was seeing someone," begins the story of Frank Griffin, a man who's willing to overlook his wife's infidelity -he would let her have this, this thrilling little romance- for the sake of keeping his family intact. But when the forty-year-old Ellen requests a divorce on the basis that she has finally found true, romantic love, Griffin must decide whether to fight or flee ... or search elsewhere for the kind of life he always dreamed of.

With Elizabeth Berg's trademark blend of rare insight, raw emotion, and hard-won wisdom, Say When is a work of startling revelation that no reader will soon forget.

beginning of Chapter 1:

Of course he knew she was seeing someone. He knew who it was, too. Six months ago, saying she needed a new direction in her life, saying she was tired of feeling helpless around anything mechanical, that she had no idea how to even change a tire, Ellen had taken a course in basic auto mechanics -"Know Your Car," it was called. She'd come back the first night saying it was amazing, she'd had the admittedly elitist idea that mechanics were illiterate, but this one was so well-spoken, and he'd walked into the classroom carrying a pile of books he'd just bought -hardback! Mostly new fiction, she'd said. But also Balzac, because he'd never read him.

favorite quote:

After a while, pain simply stopped. It was as though your mind was able to create a firewall beyond which it would not let you venture. You had to have a break from your anguish, or you'd go crazy. It was the psychological equivalent to fainting when physical pain became overbearing.

Publishers Weekly concludes, "These days, separation and divorce are commonplace, but a book that treats those subjects with Berg's tenderness and understanding is not." Kirkus Reviews calls it "Contrived and sentimental".

Devil in a Blue Dress

Devil in a Blue Dress is a 1990 award-winning detective novel -1st in a series- by Walter Mosley. It was adapted for film in 1995. I thoroughly enjoyed this page-turner and will keep my copy. I'll add the others in the series to my shelf as time goes by and look forward to reading them.

from the back of the book:

Named "one of the 100 Favorite mysteries of the century"

by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association.

Los Angeles, 1948: Easy Rawlins is a black war veteran just fired from his job at a defense plant. Easy is drinking in a friend's bar, wondering how he'll meet his mortgage when a white man in a linen suit walks in, offering good money if Easy will simply locate Miss Daphne Mont, a blonde beauty known to frequent black jazz clubs....

Chapter 3 begins:

I drove back to my house thinking of money and how much I needed to have some.

I loved going home. Maybe it was because I was raised on a sharecropper's farm or that I never owned anything until I bought that house, but I loved my little home. There was an apple tree and an avocado in the front yard, surrounded by thick Saint Augustine grass. At the side of the house I had a pomegranate tree that bore more that thirty fruit every season and a banana tree that never produced a thing.There were dahlias and wild roses in beds around the fence and African violets that I kept in a big jar on the front porch.

The New York Times says, "'Devil in a Blue Dress' marks the debut of a talented author with something vital to say about the distance between the black and white worlds, and with a dramatic way to say it." The LA Times also has a positive review and says, "re-creates the era convincingly, with all of its racial tensions, evoking the uneasy combination of freedom and disillusion in the post-war black community and revealing a tough, fresh perspective on Los Angeles history."

Coffee in a Cardboard Cup

Coffee in a Cardboard Cup:

sung by Mandy Patinkin, who celebrated his 63rd birthday yesterday. He's a favorite around our house.

Lyrics excerpt:

The trouble with the world today is plain to see
Is everything is hurry up
It's "rush it through"
"Don't be slow"
"BLT on rye to go"
And coffee
I think she said 'coffee'
I know she said 'coffee
In a cardboard cup'

Ain't it the truth! But maybe during this season we can slow down a bit, take our time, and relish what is now.

Join the weekly gathering over at Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog the Altered Book Lover. Elizabeth has eggnog. Friendly folks are sharing. You'd be welcome to participate.

Memphis Botanic Garden in the Fall

A week ago I went to the Memphis Botanic Garden, one of my favorite local parks.

What lovely Autumn color! Now to be honest, there've been better years for good fall color, and we never get the kind of glorious color here in Memphis that people in some other parts of the country are blessed with. Nevertheless....

We had had our first frost on our patio the night before, though some areas had frost earlier. The high temperature on the day I was here was 58F.

There were people in every area of the park, but not so many that it was hard to get photos.

It's such a peaceful setting. Take a seat, and enjoy the late afternoon.

The Bay of Angels

The Bay of Angels is a 2001 novel -her 22nd- by Anita Brookner. This author always appeals to me, and I am reading her novels as I come across them.

from the fly leaf:

Zoe Cunningham is delighted when her widowed mother remarries, particularly as her new step-father is amiable, generous, and the owner of a villa in Nice. Enchanted visits come to an abrupt end when an entirely unexpected development leads to a bewildering decline in which both Zoe and Anne, her mother, are trapped.

Surrounded by strangers, no matter how well-meaning, Zoe and Anne yearn for home, although in different ways, even as that home appears ever more remote, and even as Zoe begins to follow the movements of a reclusive and alluring man. Forced to learn how and how not to trust appearances, Zoe hopes for a benign outcome, as she'd so often read about in the fairy tales of her childhood. It may in fact be possible, but only if she is willing to shed the illusions that those stories did so much to encourage.

The book begins:

I read the Blue Fairy Book, the Yellow Fairy Book, and the stories of Hans Andersen, the Brothers Grimm, and Charles Perrault. None of this was groundwork for success in worldly terms, for I was led to think, indeed I was minded to think, of the redeeming situation or presence which would put to rights the hardships and dilemmas under which the characters, and I myself, had been laboring. More dangerously, it seemed I need make no decisions on my own behalf, for destiny or fate would always have the matter in hand. Although I was too sensible, even as a child, to believe in a fairy godmother I accepted as part of nature's plan that after a lifetime of sweeping the floor I would go to the ball, that the slipper would fit, and that I would marry the prince. Even the cruel ordeals undergone by the little match girl, or by Hansel and Gretel, would be reversed by that same principle of inevitable justice which oversaw all activities, which guided some even if it defeated others. I knew that some humans were favoured -by whom? by the gods? (this evidence was undeniable)- but I was willing to believe in the redeeming feature, the redeeming presence that would justify all of one's vain striving, would dispel one's disappointments, would in some mysterious way present one with a solution in which one would have no part, so that all one had to do was to wait, in a condition of sinless passivity, for the transformation that would surely take place.

random quotes:

Even a happy ending cannot always banish a sense of longing.

*******

That is why stories are so important: they reveal one to oneself, bringing into the forefront of one's consciousness realizations which so far have been dormant, unexamined.

*******

What courage it must take to grow old!

*******

The Guardian says, "If you had never read Anita Brookner before, you would be unreservedly delighted by this book. Its workmanship is such a treat." The New York Times has a positive review and says, "Freedom from attachment, the novel suggests, is no freedom at all."

other Brookner books I've read:

A Start in Life (1981, US title The Debut)
Hotel du Lac (1984)
A Misalliance (1986)
A Friend from England (1987)
Brief Lives (1990)
Fraud (1992)
A Family Romance (1993, US title Dolly)
Altered States (1996)
Visitors (1997)

Hunted

Hunted is a touching 1952 drama starring Dirk Bogarde. Bogarde is a man who has just killed his wife's boss for a suspected affair with his wife. A 6 year old orphan runaway comes across him right afterwards. The boy has run away from his abusive adoptive parents because he's in trouble -and not for the first time. This time he set the kitchen on fire. The rest of the film shows the changing relationship of the murderer and the runaway as they work to evade capture.

via Youtube:

The NYT has a mixed review. TCM has an overview.

Galilee

Galilee, by Clive Barker, is a 1998 fantasy novel. I enjoyed this one, a sweeping narrative covering a broad scope of time and place.

from the back of the book:

Rich and powerful, the Geary dynasty has reigned over American society for decades. But it is a family with dark, terrible secrets. For the Gearys are a family at war. Their adversaries are the Barbarossas, a family whose timeless origins lie in myth,whose mystical influence is felt in intense, sensual exchanges of flesh and soul. Now their battle is about to escalate.

When Galilee, prodigal prince of the Barbarossa clan, meets Rachel, the young bride of the Geary's own scion Mitchell, they fall in love, consumed by a passion that unleashes long-simmering hatred. Old insanities arise, old adulteries are uncovered, and a seemingly invincible family will begin to wither, exposing its unholy roots...

favorite quotes:

How did we all end up bemoaning the fact of living, instead of finding purpose in the fact?

.......

Unpretentious would be a kind description of the town; banal perhaps truer. If it once had some particular kind of charm, that charm's gone, demolished to make room for the great American ubiquities: cheap hamburgers, cheap liquor places, a market for soda that impersonates more expensive soda and cheese that impersonates milk product. By night the gas station's the brightest spot in town.

Kirkus Reviews calls it "entertaining".

SF Site calls it "engrossing" and says,

The truth of Galilee has less to do with its characters or their adventures than with its recognition of the importance of the storyteller—his voice and his conscience—in the telling of tales. In this truth is a redemption both personal to Barker and paramount to readers of dark and fantastic fiction, who work their way, again and again, through stories without point or purpose until coming upon the likes of Galilee.

The Blue Flower

The Blue Flower is a 1995 novel by Penelope Fitzgerald. It was her last novel, published the year before her death at the age of 83. I think I must've just expected too much. I loved The Bookshop and Offshore, and critics heap copious praise on this one and say it is her masterpiece. Maybe. I guess I need to read more about her writing. To me, it was a collection of people I didn't care about doing things I wasn't particularly interested in. Sad. One out of 3 ain't bad odds, though, so I will still pick up her novels whenever I come across them. There's something about the way she writes that attracts me.

from the back of the book:

The Blue Flower is set in the age of Goethe, in the small towns and great universities of late-eighteenth-century Germany. It tells the true story of Friedrich von Hardenberg, a passionate, impetuous student of philosophy who will later gain fame as the Romantic poet Novalis. Fritz seeks his father’s permission to wed his “heart's heart,” his “spirit's guide” —a plain, simple child named Sophie von Kühn. It is an attachment that shocks his family and friends. Their brilliant young Fritz, betrothed to a twelve-year-old dullard? How can this be?

The irrationality of love, the transfiguration of the commonplace, the clarity of purpose that comes with knowing one’s own fate —these are the themes of this beguiling novel, themes treated with a mix of wit, grace, and mischievous humor unique to the art of Penelope Fitzgerald.

The NYT says, "Good as the other books are, "The Blue Flower" is better. It is a quite astonishing book, a masterpiece, as a number of British critics have already said...". The New York Review of Books calls it "her finest". The Independent calls it "her beautiful masterpiece". Publishers Weekly closes with this: "Fitzgerald has created an alternately biting and touching exploration of the nature of Romanticism -capital "R"". Kirkus Reviews concludes, "A historical novel that's touching, funny, unflinchingly tragic, and at the same time uncompromising in its accuracy, learning and detail: a book that brings its subject entirely alive, almost nothing seeming beyond its grasp."

Gravity

Gravity is an award-winning 2013 film directed by Alfonso Cuarón and starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney.

I meant to see this in the theater but never got around to it. We picked it up at the DVD store, and were very impressed by this film. Sandra Bullock pretty much carries the entire movie and proves herself well up to the task. Even if you don't like movies that take place in space (or orbit) the drama here is the thing. Watch it!

trailer:

Moria gives it 5 out of 5 stars and names it one of the top 10 films from that year. Empire Online says, "Let’s cut to the chase. The simple truth of the matter is you’re going to love this movie. Love it..." Space.com gives the movie high praise and says, "Bullock's performance in "Gravity" is the kind of actor's tour de force that comes along maybe once in a quarter century. Yes, Sandra Bullock is that good."

Rotten Tomatoes has a 97% critics rating.

Dreams (1955)

screenshot from film watched at Hulu.com

Dreams is a 1955 Ingmar Bergman film about two women who work together in the fashion industry who schedule a 2-day shoot in a near-by town. They are having relationship difficulties with the men in their lives. The older woman is trying to renew her affair with a married man; the younger woman -a model- has been asked by her gentleman friend not to go on the shoot and when she refuses he leaves her. The movie explores the way these women cope with the struggle. The scene at the top of the post occurs when the young model is approached by an elderly man who says he enjoys looking at her and wants to buy her something. He offers her pearls; she asks for hot chocolate and pastries. So sweet!

I watched it via Hulu when it was offered as one of their free films, but it's behind a paywall now. I did find the scene where she tries on the pearls:

The New York Times says:

His current lesson in love is realistic, unadorned and has the polish of the master craftsman. But it is not a major concept he is dramatizing, and it lacks the hallmarks of imagination, expressive symbolism and poetic nuances of some of the truly memorable films that followed "Dreams."

Bright Lights Film has a positive review and says, "Viewers for whom Dreams is an introduction to Bergman’s work are in an enviable position". Rotten Tomatoes has a critics score of 40% but an audience rating of 77%.

Join the T Tuesday party over at Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog, where we share a beverage of our choosing and links to our blog posts.

The Wedding

I've been asked by a few people to post a photo of the bride in her dress. This one was taken by a member of the wedding party as photographer Bethany Veach readied the bride for more pictures. She did make a lovely bride!

Here are a couple of close-ups of the bodice:

Here's one of the bride and groom after the service:

Shadow of a Broken Man

Shadow of a Broken Man by George C. Chesbro is the first in the long-running Mongo the Magnificent mystery series. The private detective is a former circus performer, a karate expert, a university professor, , and a criminologist. He's also a dwarf. There was a planned film based on one of the books, and there's an HBO series being considered for after Peter Dinklage finishes with Game of Thrones. I enjoyed this and will seek out the rest of the series.

synopsis taken from the author's website:

Shadow of a Broken Man is that rare work of fiction, a first novel that is so unusual, so taut and engrossing and yet so timely that it not only demands to be read in one sitting but will surely haunt the reader for longer afterward. On one level, this is a fast-paced thriller. But on another, far more important level it explores the uncharted powers of the mind -its infinite, perhaps dangerous, capacities and vulnerabilities. Brilliantly delving into that shadowy area of the extraordinary, the author explores how extrasensory perception can be used to ultimately affect the destiny of men and of nations.

Dr. Robert Frederickson, known to his friends as Mongo, is a professor of criminology at a New York City university, a former circus headliner, a black-belt karate adept and a private detective -who just incidentally happens to be a dwarf. His investigation into the tangled history of a renowned architect named Rafferty, who died -or is supposed to have died- in a bizarre accident, brings him up against Lippitt, a strange victim of Communist torture, whose interest in Rafferty goes deeper than patriotism. Mongo's tenacity sets in motion an incredible chain of events that comes to an explosive and terrifying climax on a New York waterfront, in which a deadly secret is revealed.

George Chesbro's gift for authentic detail, characterization and dialogue, his dazzling originality, and, above all, his inimitably cool style have combined to produce a uniquely powerful and entertaining first novel.

---From the dustjacket of the Simon & Schuster edition

Mystery File praises it saying, "The writing here is literate and fast-paced, the plot is intricate, the concept is bizarre yet entirely plausible."

The Reckless Moment

The Reckless Moment is a 1949 film noir directed by Max Ophuls and starring James Mason (you can't go wrong with any of his movies), Joan Bennett, Geraldine Brooks, and an uncreditted William Schallert (who has appearances in Star Trek's The Trouble with Tribbles and Star Trek: DS9's Sanctuary). As much as I like James Mason, though, this film is just a touch frantic for my taste.

No good comes of protecting your children from the consequences of their actions.

This voice-over is heard following the opening credits:

This happened last year, about a week before Christmas. The Harper family lived in a charming community called Balboa, about 50 miles from Los Angeles. Early one morning, Mrs. Harper took her car and drove to Los Angeles and...

You can watch it via Youtube in parts. Here's part 1:

Time Out says, "A marvellous, tantalising thriller, it also features never-better performances from Mason and Bennett." TCM has information. Rotten Tomatoes doesn't have a critics score, but the audience score is 86%.

Rock'n Dough Pizza and Brew Co.

As I understand it, Rock'n Dough Pizza and Brew Co. started out as a food truck and expanded into a storefront restaurant. We went there last week -for our weekly Saturday pizza- to check them out. You can see the menu here. There's nothing much to look at on the outside, just a storefront location in a strip mall. Inside you order at the counter, where you can get your own drink refills:

I had a spinach calzone and coke:

It was big, and I never thought I could finish it, but I ate every bite. It'll be hard not to order a calzone every time we come here, it was so good!

The Husband and The Younger Son ordered a large Animal Lovers pizza:

They should've split a medium or gotten pizza by the slice; the 20" large was huge. They brought part of it home, and The Younger Son ate it later. In fact he liked it better later, as he said the pizza crust was a little softer than he preferred and warming it up at home gave it a firmer crust.

We'll definitely go back. I want to try the pizza, their Grinders (I didn't know what a grinder was, so I googled it), and the desserts.

OnlyInYourState.com names it one of the top 10 pizza places in the state. Yelp gives it 4 out of 5 stars. Trip Advisor gives it 4.5 out of 5 stars. The Dining with Monkeys blog likes it.

Probability Sun

Probability Sun is the 2001 science fiction novel -2nd in a trilogy- by Nancy Kress. I thoroughly enjoyed the first one and liked this even better. A fun read, if a bit heavy on physics I can't begin to understand. I had trouble putting it down. You can read the prologue here.

The dedication:

For Charles Sheffield, founder, The Charitable Foundation for the Promotion of Scientific Literacy Among People Purporting to Be Science Fiction Writers

from the back of the book:

Salvation or Annihilation?

A strange artifact has been discovered on a distant planet, an artifact that may be the key to humanity's salvation. For we at war with the Fallers, an alien race bent on nothing short of genocide, and this is a war we are losing. The artifact is not only a powerful weapon, but possibly the rosetta stone to a lost superscience ... a superscience that the Fallers may have already decoded. Or it may be a doomsday machine that could destroy the very fabric of space.

Kirkus Reviews concludes, "Kress’s always-excellent characters wrestle with a splendid array of puzzles and problems, human, alien, and scientific: another resounding success for this talented, sure-footed writer." Publishers Weekly closes with this: "Readers will start this novel because of Kress's reputation, will read it for the adventure and will like it for the characters and the science."

Mac's Burgers

Mac's Burgers moved into the old Dan McGuinness Irish Pub space. I still miss Dan McGuinness. Their fish and chips weekly special was a treat. Dan McGuinness has moved into a tiny space next door and turned itself into a hole-in-the-wall bar without food.

So... I go to Mac's Burgers reluctantly, needing to be convinced that this place is a comfortable substitute for the old one. The menu is focused on mac-and-cheese and burgers. Mac-and-cheese is ok but hardly my favorite dish, and it's not a draw for me as a restaurant offering. The burgers are cheesey. The Husband and The Younger Son ordered cheeseburgers, just regular cheeseburgers, which is an item not even on the menu. I got the "Old School" burger without mustard. This struck me as an excellent imitation of the burgers we used to get at the Mid-South Fair, but those were singles and cost 2 bucks. This was a double and was $9.

I didn't get photos of the inside, but the cozy warm pub atmosphere is gone, and the space is hard and spare. I don't think I'm their target audience.

What can I say? I miss Dan McGuinness, but that's not the only thing. I'm not getting the macaroni and cheese emphasis, and I can get a better, cheaper burger elsewhere. Them that likes it speaks well of it, as the saying goes, but I'll leave them to eat here in peace, while I get burgers elsewhere.

Yelp gives it 3.5 out of 5 stars and had this diner-submitted photo of the interior:

Trip Advisor also gives it 3.5 out of 5 stars. The Memphis Flyer has a mixed review and photos of their food. Dining With Monkeys blog has a positive review and photos. History and Pearls blog has a positive review.