Two Good Films

During my bout with COVID, I watched a couple of old films – well not that old, but not recent. And yes, I had seen them both before, but they once again were absorbing and a couple of scenes still choked me up. I didn’t plan it this way, but both dealt with very similar themes.

Dead Poets Society

A new English teacher, John Keating (played by the late Robin Williams), is introduced to an all-boys preparatory school that is known for its ancient traditions and high standards. He uses unorthodox methods to reach out to his students, who face enormous pressures from their parents and the school. With Keating’s help, students Neil Perry (Robert Sean Leonard), Todd Anderson (Ethan Hawke) and others learn to break out of their shells, pursue their dreams and seize the day.

Favorite quote: Medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.

Neil Perry’s performance as Puck in a school production of A Midsummer Nights Dream, is just magical and his fate afterwards is simply heartbreaking.

Mona Lisa Smile

Katherine Watson (Julia Roberts) is a recent UCLA graduate hired to teach art history at the prestigious all-female Wellesley College, in 1953. Determined to confront the outdated mores of society and the institution that embraces them, Katherine inspires her traditional students including Betty (Kirsten Dunst) and Joan (Julia Stiles) to challenge the lives they are expected to lead.

This is a female variant of Dead Poets Society and I found it lacking a little. Strangely, Julia Roberts is outshone by the acting of her students. But, again well worth re-watching.

Yes, folks I was sick and not up to much intellectual challenge, but if you come across either of them – even if you’ve seen them before – give them a try.

Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Jaouad

I always find it difficult to review a memoir. How does one comment on another person’s life experiences? Often, if it’s well written and when I find myself relating to and/or learning from a memoir – then I can go from there.

Such was the case with Between Two Kingdoms. Ms. Jaouad is best known for her Emmy-award winning column titled “Life Interrupted”. Her writings have been featured in many magazines and she has appeared on NPR. And finally, she is featured in Jon Batiste’s documentary “American Symphony” — but more on that later*.

You might question, like I did, if you really want to read about a young woman’s experience with cancer. So, I entered the book gingerly, but quickly found her story captivating and both devastating and uplifting in equal measures.  

Ms. Jaouad tells of her leukemia diagnosis at just 22 years of age and the toll this disease took not just on her life, but also on the lives of her family, friends and her relationship with a wonderful man.   But despite all of those things, she was a survivor ready to pick up where life left off.  Rather than succumb to depression, instead she picked herself up and took steps to actively re-engage in life (a study guide for anyone).

Her writing is beautiful and brave as she shares how the cancer ravaged her body. Her writing is painfully honest and — fair warning — she does not shy away from sharing the details. I never thought it possible to write poetically about nausea – but she does. One can certainly see why she is a respected reporter.

Everyone who is born holds dual citizenship, in the kingdom of the well and in the kingdom of the sick,” Susan Sontag wrote in Illness as Metaphor. “Although we all prefer to use only the
good passport, sooner or later each of us is obliged, at least for a spell, to identify ourselves as citizens of that other place.

But it’s not all gloom and doom, Ms. Jaouad also has an adventure story. While a patient in Sloan Kettering, she wrote articles about her real-time experience fighting cancer which were published in her New York Times column “Life Interrupted”. This fame sparked a correspondence with other cancer warriors across the country. In an adventuresome exercise, when Suleka’s health improves she takes off on a 100-day 15,000 mile car ride across the country to visit some of these people whom she had become to know. This road trip is full of surprises, warm meetings, and much bad driving.

Between Two Kingdoms is not only marvelous storytelling, it is also an insight into one woman’s struggle to make sense of a world that seems impossibly and devastatingly uncertain. Ms. Jaouad gives her experience eloquence without shying away from the hard truths.

All of us have experienced cancer – either your own or a loved one’s. If you’re like me, you’ll perhaps find that Ms. Jaouad’s memoir deepens the way you view sickness, recovery…and the importance of loved ones throughout the battles. In the end, this memoir is an uplifting celebration of life – as they say through sickness and in health.

* N.B. “American Symphony” is a Netflix documentary about musician, Jon Batiste, who sets out to compose a symphony. But, Ms. Jaouad, his life partner, learns that her cancer has returned. The documentary showcases the portrait of these two artists at a pivotal crossroads in their relationship and their respective creative journeys. Well worth watching – with a box of tissues nearby — and his music is just wonderful.

House of Trelawney by Hannah Rothschild

Maybe you remember I really enjoyed Ms. Rothschild’s other novel – The Improbability of Love, so when I read about another novel by her, I had to download it from my library.*

One of the books I read while traveling, House of Trelawney, was both engaging, fascinating, and yet also, somewhat infuriating. Here is another novel where the house is as much a central character as the people.

So first, the house — (and I’m quoting here) — for more than seven hundred years, the vast, rambling Trelawney Castle in Cornwall–turrets, follies, a room for every day of the year, four miles of corridors and 500,000 acres–was the magnificent and grand a “three dimensional calling card” of the earls of Trelawney. By 2008, it is in a complete state of ruin due to the dulled ambition and the financial ineptitude of the twenty-four earls, two world wars, the Wall Street crash, and inheritance taxes.

But as you read deeper into the novel, this is no romantic, rundown manor — there is no heating, sometimes no hot water, and there are gaps where the auctioned paintings used to be — it’s filled with mold, rodents, and decaying filth. This is the stark reality of their situation.

The story is set during the 2008 global economic crisis. A time which almost brought down the world’s financial systems. That, along with the disintegration of the British antiquated class system provide backdrops to the Trelawney family story, which takes place at the estate in Cornwall and London.

This is a big, tempestuous story of an English family trying to save their family estate – but not only is the physical estate disintegrating, so is their lifestyle, and family bonds. The entwined story of these characters and the house twists around inheritance, personal interests, class standards and drive (or lack thereof) across three generations. All sprinkled with satire, wit, and some marvelous writing.

This story line of a rapidly-disappearing world of privilege is very reminiscent of Julian Fellows (of Downton Abby fame) and the humor reminded me of Evelyn Waugh (Note: more on Waugh in a future post here).

There is a great assortment of characters – so take a deep breath and see if you can follow along. There is Jane, the daughter in law who works hard and sacrifices for Kitto, her husband, and his family. The grandmother who refuses to let go of the standards of centuries past. Then there is the incompetent Ambrose, the oldest son of Kitto and Jane, a youth even more callow and incompetent than his father or grandfather. We spend time with Arabella, younger sister of Ambrose, who develops an interest in entomology from her eccentric Aunt Tuffy who scrapes fleas off animal corpses for research. Finally there is Tony Scott, younger brother to the old Earl, is now an aging, impoverished art dealer who lives in a London bed-sit (aka studio apartment).

The reader must pay attention, as each chapter addresses a different point in time, skipping around a day or week later, and sometimes three months between, but not to worry you’ll get used to it, and it’s easy to go back and check where you are in the time frame.

There’s not a great deal of plot; the book is much more of a character study of the family as they try to deal with modernity, while holding on to a life style and titles that no longer have meaning or relevance..

If the novel has one fault, it is the on again, off again, romance between Blaze and Joshua, It became irritating after a while, and somewhat contrived, as it didn’t fit in with the black humor that made this book so much fun for me. Also, the ending seemed very sudden with many loose ends left untied.

Most fascinating for me was the extensional question — who came out better — those who inherit or those who break away to a different life.

I found House of Trelawney a grand read – for me escapism, humor, and I have to admit, with a bit of British aristocracy schadenfreude (look it up, great word).

N.B. * If you have a digital reader of any sort, check out your library’s digital book system — called Overdrive and/or Libby. Clearly explained on your library website or go and get instructions from your librarian. You can download books from anytime and anywhere. I downloaded this novel while sitting on the deck of our ship in Norway.

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

Sorry to cheat, but this, from the book’s publicity blurb, perfectly captures this entertaining novel:

“Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel–prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results.

But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth’s unusual approach to cooking (“combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride”) proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook. She’s daring them to change the status quo.” (End of quote.)

It’s been a long time, since I enjoyed a character as much as Elizabeth Zott. I cheered and chuckled as she makes her way through the 1950’s and 60’s as a scientist. A woman ahead of her time, she accepts no limitations, she walks right over fragile male egos, and she could care less that she isn’t accepted at the almost entirely male Hastings Institute.

Then she meets another scientist, Calvin Evans, who doesn’t fit in either. They fall in love and move in together, because Zott doesn’t believe in marriage — her religion is science. When she discovers she is pregnant and a single mother (you’ll have to read the book to find out why), Zott is fired and her financial circumstances leads her to become an unlikely, reluctant and uncompromising television star, with her popular TV cooking show, ‘Supper at Six’,

She refuses to wear the ultra-feminine (and tight) dresses chosen for her, and instead, dresses in a lab coat with a pencil stuck in her hair. Rather than a typical cooking show, she focuses on the chemistry of cooking, using chemical names for the ingredients, and developing recipes that are a fresh and healthy change from 1960’s cooking. The show becomes wildly popular with home makers everywhere, and no one is more surprised than Zott herself.

Zott’s daughter was one of my favorite characters – a precociously bright four-year old, Mad, an early reader, voraciously consuming the likes of Norman Mailer and Charles Dickens.

Because while musical prodigies are always celebrated, early readers aren’t. And that’s because early readers are only good at something others will eventually be good at, too. So being first isn’t special – it’s just annoying.

Not only did I love the immediate family of Elizabeth, Madeline and the rescued dog Six Thirty, I also was enamored with the other characters — Mrs. Sloane, Dr. Mason, Rev. Wakefield, Walter – her found family who loves her and provides the support she needs as a single working mom.

Lessons in Chemistry is a intelligent, witty and wonderful. The writing here is smart and engaging. I found myself chortling over phrase after phrase – and the veracity of them – here’s a few of my favorites quotes:

“When it came to equality, 1952 was a real disappointment.”

“Elizabeth Zott held grudges too. Except her grudges were mainly reserved for a patriarchal society founded on the idea that women were less. Less capable. Less intelligent. Less inventive. A society that believed men went to work and did important things—discovered planets, developed products, created laws—and women stayed at home and raised children.”

“No surprise. Idiots make it into every company. They tend to interview well.”

“(On religion) “I think it lets us off the hook. I think it teaches us that nothing is really our fault; that something or someone else is pulling the strings; the ultimately, we’re not to blame for the way things are; that to improve things, we should pray. But the truth is, we are very much responsible for the badness in the world. And we have the power to fix it.”

“It’s just that we tend to treat pregnancy as the most common condition in the world—as ordinary as stubbing a toe—when the truth is, it’s like getting hit by a truck. Although obviously a truck causes less damage.”

“Every day she found parenthood like taking a test for which she had not studied. The questions were daunting and there wasn’t nearly enough multiple choice.”

This was a great read and I enjoyed every page. Some of the situations are a bit far-fetched and strain believably but again, this is fiction and fun fiction.

Elizabeth Zott brought to mind some of my other favorite, unconventional, independent women characters – (click on each to read more about them).

Lillian Boxfish Euridice Gusmao Eleanor Oliphant Flavia de Luce

Once again, excuse me if I use another reviewer’s quote – it matches my feelings exactly.

“The most delightful novel I read this year—fresh and surprising—was Lessons in Chemistry: a fish-out-of-water story about a feminist hero who never stops pushing for what’s right. (I laughed out loud!)”
—Philip Galanes, The New York Times

This is Ms. Garmus’s debut novel – and it is a winner. I eagerly await her next.

A digital review copy was provided by Doubleday Books via Netgalley.

Yes, they’ve made a TV series based on the book. It airs on Apple TV which I don’t get. It received some pretty good reviews ~~ but as always I recommend reading the book first.

The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl

I have read and enjoyed almost all of Ms. Reichl’s work – she’s a wonderful writer with a special talent for describing and writing about food. For years, she was the restaurant critic for the New York Times and then editor of Gourmet, one of my favorite magazine subscriptions. Here’s the collection of what I think are her best books. I suggest you find any of these books to get a taste (sorry) of her best work.

A few months ago, I was quite pleased to receive an advance copy of her latest novel from the publisher and saved it for our trip knowing it would be a delight.

When I started The Paris Novel, I immediately I had to remind myself that, yes, yes, this is one of my favorite authors. After reading the second chapter I had to close the book, as she included a very graphic child sexual abuse scene. I found it quite upsetting…so I chose another book to read for a while. But soon I had to try again, reminding myself it’s Ruth Reichl you always enjoy her books.

The book begins with Stella living a dull life in New York city. Her self-absorbed single mother (who chose to ignore the abuse described from a man she was seeing) has died and left her money and one request for Stella to go to Paris.

Once there, she discovers a vintage store, tries on a stunning Dior dress, and meets an older gentleman who introduces her to the real Paris. Stella becomes immersed in French cuisine, spends time working and living at the famous Shakespeare and Company bookstore, and unravels mysteries about her (possible) biological father — Ms. Reichl included the famous Richard Oldney as one of the father figures.

With the help of a precocious young French girl, she researches into the life of a female artist from the Impressionistic period whose work has been overlooked due to societal attitudes towards women in the arts.

Everything seems charmed for Stella, she meets generous people, given free apartments, treated to fine meals to dine on, even couture clothing and, without giving too much away — finding romance.

Whew! It’s as if my dear Ms. Reichl tried to include every possible Parisian cliche into the this novel. I kept reading The Paris Novel, despite its predictable characters and tropes.

Why did I keep reading ~~ the beautifully written descriptions of the incredible food and drink to be found everywhere in France. Reading these sections made me long to book a ticket and visit just to eat. Here’s just a sample.

What would we say? The wine spoke for itself. We were drinking time, drinking history, tasting the past. You can’t talk about that, and only idiots would try.

The oysters arrived on a deep bed of ice. She had never eaten an oyster, and she stared down at the platter. A ruffle of black encircled each opalescent heart; she thought of orchids. Triangles of lemon sat on the ice, and she picked one up and squeezed it, inhaling the prickly aroma. Then she reached for an oyster, tipped her head, and tossed it back. The oyster was cool and slippery, the flavor so briny it was like diving into the ocean. She closed her eyes to savor the experience, make it last.

The chef made the most beautiful salad I’d ever seen. He threw everything into it— pieces of lemon, bits of cheese, and then he took the violets out of the vase and tossed in the petals. It was beautiful.

I finished The Paris Novel, but I admit it was a struggle, and in my opinion, it was not at all up to par with her other books.

Her author’s note at the end was quite interesting, as it seems some of the novel may have been somewhat autobiographical ~~ namely the exquisite dress found in a vintage shop.

But please, please don’t discount Ms. Reichl based on this review of her latest. Read any of her other books (see above), you’ll find them delightful and bound to make you hungry for good food.

CLICK HERE — to read about two of my favorites.

A digital review copy was provided by Random House via Netgalley.