I'm halfway through Joshua Ferris' Then We Came to the End and so far I am really enjoying it. I think it's the only book I've ever read that employed the plural first person ("we"), and while it takes a little getting used to, it works quite well with the subject matter (office life). There is one section that is in the third person, and although this could have been clunky, I found it entirely appropriate.
It's hard to explain what the novel is about; mostly it's about the intricacies of office relationships--friendships, rivalries, romances, personal traumas. On the surface it can read as quite fluffy and inconsequential, but the author does actually address surprisingly big issues like mortality, loneliness, what makes for a meaningful life, bullying and groupthink.
I'd recommend it for anyone looking for a pretty easy summer read that is just unusual enough not to feel like brain candy.
Showing posts with label recommendations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recommendations. Show all posts
Monday, June 08, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
marking; procrastinating; The Book of Negroes; The Torso
I am supposed to be marking; therefore, of course, I am finding many other urgent and compelling things to do. In addition to marking the occasional essay, I have spent a lot of time cleaning up my desk, knitting things for my nephew to be, and researching swine flu so that I can ramp up my anxiety levels to super-high.
I finished reading this year's Canada Reads pick, The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill. Well, actually, I listened to the unabridged audiobook which was broadcast on CBC and then archived on the Between the Covers podcast. Very gripping stuff--the story pulls you along but it is also well-researched and contains a lot of historical detail. I sort of wish I had read the book, but the audiobook was very well narrated and above all, convenient while I was travelling; I went to Vancouver for professional development last week and then the morning after I returned I had to do a 4.5 hour drive out to a community program. I was grateful to be able to listen to 10 chapters on the way there and back, which kept me from falling into a coma and driving into the ditch.
I read a piece by the author about how he had to change the title for the US publication of the book. Instead of The Book of Negroes (which is also the name of a real, historical document), it's called Someone Knows My Name. SO generic. Hill says, "At first, I was irritated, but gradually I've come to make my peace with the new title," but honestly, could the publisher not have picked a better alternative?
I'm not sure what my book group is reading next, but this was a good pick. We did a quick tally of the books we've read since December and realized that they've all been downers. I like dramatic stuff as much as anyone, but since September we've read about
I suggested we read Angela's Ashes for a little levity.
Our librarian friend is going to make an executive decision and choose a book for us from the book club sets at the public library. I'll be interested to see what she chooses.
At the moment, I'm reading The Torso by Helene Tursten--it's the second in her Detective Inspector Irene Huss series. It's translated from the Swedish, and it loses nothing in translation but is a nice shift for me from the British mysteries I normally read. I find that a well-written mystery provides a lot of opportunity for meaningful social and cultural commentary. I realize I'm not really getting away from the heavy, depressing stuff here--and it's fairly gruesome, I mean just look at the title--but it's well-written and I don't have to think too hard. That suits me fine because I need to conserve my mental energy for reading student essays.
I finished reading this year's Canada Reads pick, The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill. Well, actually, I listened to the unabridged audiobook which was broadcast on CBC and then archived on the Between the Covers podcast. Very gripping stuff--the story pulls you along but it is also well-researched and contains a lot of historical detail. I sort of wish I had read the book, but the audiobook was very well narrated and above all, convenient while I was travelling; I went to Vancouver for professional development last week and then the morning after I returned I had to do a 4.5 hour drive out to a community program. I was grateful to be able to listen to 10 chapters on the way there and back, which kept me from falling into a coma and driving into the ditch.
I read a piece by the author about how he had to change the title for the US publication of the book. Instead of The Book of Negroes (which is also the name of a real, historical document), it's called Someone Knows My Name. SO generic. Hill says, "At first, I was irritated, but gradually I've come to make my peace with the new title," but honestly, could the publisher not have picked a better alternative?
I'm not sure what my book group is reading next, but this was a good pick. We did a quick tally of the books we've read since December and realized that they've all been downers. I like dramatic stuff as much as anyone, but since September we've read about
- war, torture, poverty and exile from Ethiopia
- poverty, abuse, and murder in the Maritimes
- war, poverty, Nazis and collaborators during WWII in France
- war, poverty, starvation and Nazis during the siege of Leningrad
- kidnapping, slavery, rape, and murder in Africa and the US colonies.
I suggested we read Angela's Ashes for a little levity.
Our librarian friend is going to make an executive decision and choose a book for us from the book club sets at the public library. I'll be interested to see what she chooses.
At the moment, I'm reading The Torso by Helene Tursten--it's the second in her Detective Inspector Irene Huss series. It's translated from the Swedish, and it loses nothing in translation but is a nice shift for me from the British mysteries I normally read. I find that a well-written mystery provides a lot of opportunity for meaningful social and cultural commentary. I realize I'm not really getting away from the heavy, depressing stuff here--and it's fairly gruesome, I mean just look at the title--but it's well-written and I don't have to think too hard. That suits me fine because I need to conserve my mental energy for reading student essays.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Slings and Arrows
Before the weekend, I received in the mail the first season (2 discs, 6 episodes total) of Movie Central's Slings and Arrows, about the world of classical Shakespearean theatre.
The pilot starts with the contrasting stories of two theatre companies: one is a hardworking group of actors with lots of artistic integrity...who are housed in a dilapidated building with non-functioning toilets, no phones, and the occasional electrical fire. The other, The Swan, is a posh, plush theatre that panders to the "grey-haired set;" it is the official home of the New Burbage Shakespeare Festival (based on the Stratford, I'm assuming). Whereas the first theatre is scrambling to cover basic expenses, The Swan is comfortable, complacent, and corporate-sponsored.
During the pilot, the first theatre is trying to a) fix the plumbing, and b) come up with the back rent that they owe the landlord. The other theatre is preparing for the opening night of the festival--a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
As the pilot continues, the tension at The Swan builds: Richard, the general manager (Mark McKinney of The Kids in the Hall), is in a tizzy about keeping their corporate sponsors happy, while Oliver, the artistic director (Stephen Ouiemette), is self-medicating with the bottle to avoid the glaring fact that he has allowed his productions to become boring and soulless in order to stay afloat financially.
So far I have watched the first and second episodes, and I'm already hooked. The writing is excellent: subtle and witty with some amusing in-jokes for those familiar with the world of the theatre, but not so many that it would alienate viewers not familiar with what goes on backstage. And although we do see characters that could definitely be "types" (the diva, the ingenue, the drunk, disillusioned director who has sold out his artistic vision to The Man, the clueless suit who doesn't really understand the arts), the acting skillfully avoids caricature.
A very young-looking pre-Mean Girls and Wedding Crashers Rachel McAdams is charming as a newbie actor who is paying her dues playing the "maids and fairies" roles.
Paul Gross is also mesmerizing as the crazy director of the impoverished theatre company who seems to have a mysterious past relationship to Oliver and Ellen, The Swan's leading lady (Martha Burns).
If you like warm, intelligent, engaging drama with comedic moments, I highly recommend Slings and Arrows.
The pilot starts with the contrasting stories of two theatre companies: one is a hardworking group of actors with lots of artistic integrity...who are housed in a dilapidated building with non-functioning toilets, no phones, and the occasional electrical fire. The other, The Swan, is a posh, plush theatre that panders to the "grey-haired set;" it is the official home of the New Burbage Shakespeare Festival (based on the Stratford, I'm assuming). Whereas the first theatre is scrambling to cover basic expenses, The Swan is comfortable, complacent, and corporate-sponsored.
During the pilot, the first theatre is trying to a) fix the plumbing, and b) come up with the back rent that they owe the landlord. The other theatre is preparing for the opening night of the festival--a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
As the pilot continues, the tension at The Swan builds: Richard, the general manager (Mark McKinney of The Kids in the Hall), is in a tizzy about keeping their corporate sponsors happy, while Oliver, the artistic director (Stephen Ouiemette), is self-medicating with the bottle to avoid the glaring fact that he has allowed his productions to become boring and soulless in order to stay afloat financially.
So far I have watched the first and second episodes, and I'm already hooked. The writing is excellent: subtle and witty with some amusing in-jokes for those familiar with the world of the theatre, but not so many that it would alienate viewers not familiar with what goes on backstage. And although we do see characters that could definitely be "types" (the diva, the ingenue, the drunk, disillusioned director who has sold out his artistic vision to The Man, the clueless suit who doesn't really understand the arts), the acting skillfully avoids caricature.
A very young-looking pre-Mean Girls and Wedding Crashers Rachel McAdams is charming as a newbie actor who is paying her dues playing the "maids and fairies" roles.
Paul Gross is also mesmerizing as the crazy director of the impoverished theatre company who seems to have a mysterious past relationship to Oliver and Ellen, The Swan's leading lady (Martha Burns).
If you like warm, intelligent, engaging drama with comedic moments, I highly recommend Slings and Arrows.
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