Harriet's Corner
The Bi-Monthly Newsletter of What to Read
Issue #9: In which she goes to Mexico to catch up on her reading...
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2006 has begun for me as a literary smash hit. I had to contain myself in preparing my selections for this letter....Lest you think I do nothing but read (which is what my husband and children always say) I did spend a lot of time on the beach in Mexico and, as usual, criss-crossing the country on airplanes. Although the former activity is much more enjoyable than the latter, both afford ample amounts of time for reading. This month's selections include some very new books, some just out in paperback and some that somehow or other managed to slip past my radar for a few years. All are well worth serious consideration on your part......so, let's begin....
"Shantaram" by Gregory David Roberts, $14.95 paperback
I MUST start with this book. No only did I begin my year with it, I am still totally amazed by it.....all 944 pages of it. But please, don't let that put you off. It is worth even minute of time you devote to it.....written as a novel, this book has a lot of biographical material, beginning with the author's escape from prison in Australia and arriving by plane, with the fake name of Lindsay and a fake New Zealand passport, in Bombay, where most of the novel is set. On his first day there, he meets the two people who will influence his fate in this city. The first is Prabaker, a tour guide, who although he is a slum-dweller, has a joyful heart and a smile as big as the ocean......he is a beautiful character who we root for throughout the book. The other is the mysterious and stunning Karla, a Swiss-American with a wide circle of ex-pat friends with whom Lindsay becomes connected. As much as any one person, Bombay is also a central character in this book. In fact, this book, in a way, is a love song to the city of Bombay. So much so, that my husband Richard who has refused to even discuss a trip to India for many years and for a multitude of reasons...finished this book, looked at me and said, "OK, I'm ready to go to Bombay"! Our hero lives in the slums, starts a free clinic there, is arrested and thrown into the infamous Arthur Road Prison, gets hooked up with the Bombay mafia, joins the freedom fighters in Afghanistan, falls desperately in love, all the while having meaningful philosophical and religious meditations and dialogues. This book is as thought-provoking as it is action packed. And on top of all that, is really beautifully written.....truly, a book not to be missed.
"The Space Between Us" by Thrity Umrigar, $24.95 hardcover
While we are on the subject, I have to write about this book whose only thing in common with "Shanatram" is the city of Bombay....and again a paean to that city. There the similarity ends. This is a very moving story of two women; Sera Dubash an upper-middle-class Parsi and Bhima, her servant of many years. These women know each other better than anyone else knows them...they have seen into the souls of one another. They have supported each other through infidelities, spousal abuse and horrific tragedies. And yet, they cannot overcome the space between them mandated by their class and their caste. When Bhima takes a break from housework to sit down with Sera to have their heart to heart talks over a glass of tea, Sera sits at the table and Bhima squats on her haunches on the dining room floor. Their lives and the lives of their families are intertwined...in a way they are like family to one another...and yet the space between them does not and cannot diminish. This is a story of love, loss and betrayal gorgeously imagined and told. "... perhaps it is that time doesn't heal all wounds at all, perhaps that is the biggest lie of them all, and instead what happens is that each wound penetrates the body deeper and deeper until one day you find that the sheer geography of your bones has collapsed under the weight of your grief." Heartbreaking passages like this tell the story of Bhima, a character who absolutely haunted me for days after I finished this book.
"The Leopard Hat" by Valerie Steiker, $13.00 paperback
This is a book for anyone who has had a mother, anyone who has a daughter and anyone who loves New York....hmmmm...that would seem to be a whole lot of people, ne-c'est pas? This beautiful memoir is a stunning tribute to Ms. Steiker's mom. It is not a story of a dysfunctional family trying to cope. Although Ms. Steiker's family lived on the tony Upper East Side, this is not a mommie dearest story. It is a story of a daughter enchanted by her exotic mother, Gisele.....a daughter who was defined by her mother, whose young life revolved around the excitement and beauty of her mother. Until she lost her mother and had to put her life together.....a life separate and apart from her mother. There is a striking passage when the author looks at a photo of her mother and longs for "the sensation, lost forever now, of standing and dreaming and being me before my mother's eyes." Having lost my mother at the same age as the author, I felt that phrase as a depiction of the sense of loss I feel even to this day. There is a thread of love that runs through this book. It is a beautifully written tribute to a life full of beauty, happiness and joie de vivre. Of course, there is a dark side to every life, and Gisele's was as a young girl in Belgium when the Nazi's invaded. These sections are given the same tender treatment as the rest of the book. The author's Proustian detail evokes another time and another place to create a very lovely book.
"Beasts of No Nation" by Uzodinma Iweala, $16.95 hardcover
This stunning debut novel by Uzodinma Iweala tells the story of the young boy Agu who is conscripted by gunpoint. The setting is something in West Africa...we do not know the country, we do not know the reasons for the war, we do not know for which side young Agu is forced to fight. What matters is the dehumanizing process of turning a boy into a killing machine. This poignant and brutal story is told by Agu in a kind of broken pidgin English which takes a few pages to get used to. It then becomes almost lyrical.....a song of sadness.
This book has been selected by the Iconoclast staff as our featured book of the month. During the month of February, this book is 20% off at all of our stores. "Beasts of No Nation" will be discussed on March 8 at 6:30 at the Hailey store.....look for our featured selected every month.
"Fields of Plenty" by Michael Ableman, $35 hardcover
At the insistence of my organic-eating, sustainable farming proponent daughter, I picked up this book to take a look. First, I was surprised by the beauty of the photographs: baskets full of newly harvested baby potatoes and tomatoes, fields of herbs, beautiful vegetables....a mouth watering array to be sure. Then I looked at some of the recipes and decided this was definitely a book to read. Organic farmer Ableman sets out with his son in his VW van to visit organic farms around the country...he chooses an odd time to do this...summertime, when he should be home tending his own fields. His interviews with farmers and anecdotes are fascinating. What comes across is an incredible respect for the earth and the intricacies involved in its cultivation. Ableman makes us mourn the loss of our country's agricultural heritage...but gives us hope with the rise of a new generation of organic farmers. This book is beautiful enough to sit on a coffee table, the recipes are good enough to try and the content is most definitely thought-provoking....A lovely gift for your 'back to nature' friends...or for yourself.
"Rasputin's Daughter" by Robert Alexander, $23.95 hardcover
Historical fiction buffs: This is a great read! Just as he did with "The Kitchen Boy", Alexander did his research well and presents documented facts about the lives of Rasputin, his daughter Maria and the Tsar's family. Woven in with these facts is a fantastic story behind the week leading up to the assassination of Rasputin and of his influence on the royal family and his alleged participation in a secret sect. Rasputin was hated, reviled and feared by much of the population and the aristocracy. At the same time, he was loved, worshipped and adored by the royal family, especially the Tsarina and her close coterie of high bred followers. This is a look at one of the most fascinating characters of twentieth century Russia, who to this day is not truly known or understood. Was he trying to bring down the royal family? Was he a sexual deviant? Did he influence the Tsar in political decisions? Or was he the misunderstood 'Mad Monk', a peasant priest from Siberia who was able to help the hemophiliac heir to the throne, Aleksei? We see the frightening Rasputin through the eyes of a loving daughter who learns some stunning truths about her father. We also get a wonderful look at Petrograd of 1917, immersed in an internal war more destructive to the country than on-going World War I.......the desperation and starvation of the people as the Grand Dukes ate caviar and drank champagne. Alexander's love of Russia comes through the pages of this very fine book. Be prepared: You will not be able to put this book down!
"A Meal Observed" by Andrew Todhunter, $13.00, paperback
Attention Francophiles! Don't miss this mouth-watering divine little book! Mr. Todhunter and his wife, who are living in Paris, decide to splurge on a meal at Taillevent which as a Michelin three star is reputed to be one of the finest restaurants in the world. (My husband and I once had lunch there with some friends.) The chapter titles follow the meal itself...L'Apertif, L'Entree, Le Pause, etc. As we attend this four hour dinner with the author and his wife, we learn that as a reporter, Todhunter has spent some time as a volunteer apprentice in Taillevent's kitchen. He occasionally digresses to interviews and discussions he has had with various members of l'equipe (the team of chefs, sous-chefs and sommeliers) where we learn about the life of a chef and the inner workings of a restaurant. There are also digressions to anecdotes of the author's youth which are always charming and relevant. This is a perfectly delightful book....maybe I can convince Richard to take a return trip to Taillevent!
I'm not trying to pressure you....but I have a bunch of books ready for my next newsletter....I told you 2006 was going to be a stellar reading year! So.....start reading! I love to get feedback on the books you liked and those that you didn't. Please feel free to email me.
Save the date: February 19, 6:00-8:00PM at the Ketchum Iconoclast for author Sarah Sentilles whose book "Taught by America" depicts her two years working for the Teach for America program through whom she was assigned to an elementary school in Compton, California. Her first grade classroom had 36 students and no books. This is a story of struggle and one of hope. Don't miss it!
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