Last week’s reading:
- Robert Harris’s Lustrum is the second of two novels recounting the life of Roman philosopher/orator/lawyer/politician Cicero. Harris can write smoothly and entertainingly about any subject, modern or ancient, Lustrum being a good example. It’s an enjoyable and intriguing read, although the five-year period covered by this book is telescoped at the end, at which time the man Cicero sheds some of his heroic qualities, so I felt a trifle flat upon turning over the last page.
- Another fine writer, this time of nonfiction, is Tracy Kidder. I can’t say I’ve read more than a couple of his books, but I was drawn to Strength in What Remainsby the rave reviews highlighting both his narrative skill and palpable morality. And so the book delivers, in this story of Deogratias, who arrives in New York at age 24 with $200 in his pocket and not a word of English, after spending a horrific, long period dodging death during the Burundi massacres. Life in New York proves as difficult as life in Burundi. This is an artfully constructed work that somehow captures his subject’s feelings during events so harrowing they’re hard to imagine. The picture that shines through the author’s words is the hesitant, solid courage of Deo, who continues to suffer from hellish memories but somehow carves out a new, caring life.
- A few years ago, Barry Dickins – poet, raconteur, tabloid columnist and journalist, author of thirty books – received ECT shock therapy for acute depression in a Melbourne psychiatric clinic. Unparalleled Sorrow, his memoir of those days and the days after, is a freeform, irksome mess. Not easily recommended, it is nonetheless a rare, candid and penetrating glimpse into ‘the black dog’ and modern psychiatric treatment. The sadness that pervades every paragraph is hard to bear
Last week’s movies:
- Nowhere Boy is a small-frame drama accorded tremendous heft by tackling John Lennon before the Beatles came into being. I’m wary of biopics but this one sparkles throughout: a tight, unsentimental script; fine acting (Aaron Johnson as Lennon absolutely rings true); spot-on music of the times(including a marvellous studio scene of John, Paul and George recording as The Quarrymen)
Last week’s music:
- Waxing Gibbous/Malcolm Middleton – another witty, often morose but always intriguing release from Arab Strap founder Middleton. Songs vary from self-strummed ditties (I saw him live last year in this format, quite wonderful) to bombastic band pieces. Always the words hold centre stage and the best tracks (‘Carry Me’ and ‘Don’t Want to Sleep Tonight’) are moving
- The Century of Self/And They Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - the first album by this independent American band that I’ve listened to and I’m grateful I did. Graced with two songwriters and singers (who sound best when singing or roaring together, Clash-style), they seem to me an individualistic mix of prog, stadium rock and punk. They don’t hesitate to include instrumental tracks and to experiment, but the wild, churning tracks are the ones that will stick in my head. A wonderful discovery.
Current reading/listening/viewing:
- My current reading diet is most varied. On the fiction front: Parrot and Olivier/Peter Carey; Spud/John van de Ruit; Fever and Spear/Javier Marias. Nonfiction: The Age of Wonder/Richard Holmes; The Spirit Level/Richard Wilkinson & Kate Pickett; “What the Heck Are You Up to, Mr. President?”/ Kevin Mattson
- I keep lending Colm Toibin’s Brooklyn to friends, must get it back (it’s just won the Costa award for best novel)
- Not much music on the go, need to stock up: It Feels So Good When I Stop/Joe Pernice and Logos/Atlas Sound
- Planned movies: Avatar, Bright Star
New stuff to track down and then read/hear/see:
- Animated action/sci-fi Avatarin 3D. The appeal comes from all sorts of directions: sci fi, a rarity these days; great graphics; novelty value of 3D; some fine reviews; and even political controversy (see this post and this onefrom Andrew Leonard). Jane Campion’s films always captivate, even the less stellar ones – Bright Star, her take on part of Keats’s life, has recently opened in Melbourne. Fresh from the triumph of Juno, Jason Reitman must be given a go with his new comedy flick Up in the Air, starring George Clooney. Stephanie Zacharek found it lightweight but the trailers seem genuinely funny, especially to a veteran airport denizen like me. Quite how The Roadwill translate from Cormac McCarthy’s post-apocalyptic masterpiece is hard to imagine but it’s a must-see. An intriguing documentary (see the NYT review) might not make the big screen here - In Search of Memory: The Neuroscientist Eric Kandel. Missed onscreen so wait for DVD: Where the Wild Things Are/Spike Jonze and Away We Go/Sam Mendes
- Belatedly, from Andrew O’Hehir’s deliciously principled ‘best of 2009′ list [add link], some movies I’ll keep an eye out for, unsure if I’ll even be able to get them here on DVD: Branson, Il Divo, The White Ribbon, and 35 Shots of Rum
- William Boyd has a reputation for intelligent thrillers but I gave up a few years ago after a few disappointments. Well, Ordinary Thunderstorms, whilst ending up on few 2009 Best Of charts, was recommended by a number of those ‘my favourite’ lists, and seems to have a classic thriller plot.
- Laura Miller of Salon has a column recommending a book a week. Heaven forbid that I should slavishly follow her advice, but I’ve always found her judgement to be good, and on December 28 she recommended two books as ‘captivating’: The Privileges/Jonathan Dee and The Unnamed/Joshua Ferris
- Two leftfield nonfiction books that somehow got my attention while doing ‘best of 2009′ reading: Worlds Made by Words: Scholarship and Community in the Modern West/Anthony Grafton; and The Great Cities of History/John Julius Norwich (ed.). Also Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks/Ethan Gilsdorf
- In my quest for new rock music, three rather daring (I think) selections: Do Make Say This/Other Truths (see this post-rock band’s review on Pitchfork) and Self-titled/The Amazing. Just as much a leap in the dark, though I know some of her past music: Magic Neighbor/Lisa Germano. Someone I haven’t purchased for some time: Testament: Paris/London/Keith Jarrett. And for the voice, man: The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again/John Fogerty