Oh Snap!: Train Spotting

An engrossing book can make the long commute home that much more enjoyable as this man proves with his copy of Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma.

Photo by Uptown Literati

Voices: 'Drinking Coffee Elsewhere' Satisfies

Drinking Coffee Elsewhere, the debut book of cub writer ZZ Packer, is heavily lauded. Novelist John Updike recommended the collection of short stories for "The Today Show" Book Club Pick; The New York Times named it one its Notable Books; newspapers like USA Today, The Baltimore Sun and The Seattle Times all heaped heavy one-worders on the prose: honest, poignant, and provocative among them.

But even as highly recommended as the eight stories in Coffee came, they still exceeded my expectations.

One reviewer called Packer’s characters, all of whom are African-Americans flirting, kissing or full-on sexing social annexation, “smart people surrounded by fools.” I am not sure if I agree that everyone else in the stories is unintelligent, but she certainly seems to have a knack for articulating society’s hypocrisies with above-it-all, other-worldy heroes.

Like Squirt, the Atlanta elementary school nerd who goes to stay-away camp with her Girl Scout troop in “Brownies.” Between the group’s queen bees, a grieving mother-chaperone, a special-needs rival white troop, and a reflective bus ride, Squirt matures and recognizes ugly realities before the story’s end.

In “Every Tongue Shall Confess,” “Speaking in Tongues,” and “Doris is Coming,” Packer takes on the morality of the Black church, pitting willful girls against the patriarchal leaders of the pulpit. But even treading those would-be stormy waters, the writer is careful not to pass judgment on the institution itself, but manages to show a particular opinion or practice as impractical, irrational or plain stupid.

“The Ant of the Self” explores a turbulent father-son relationship while “Geese,” one of the single most odd and magnificent stories ever, shows a woman in Japan that falls on hard times.

Most compelling is Packer’s ability to profile the maligned, misunderstood, sometimes downright pathetic without being overly sentimental or with pity. As suggested by the title, the people in the stories all seem to be passively wishing that they were going about life’s mundane tasks in another time or place.


--Whitney Teal

Lifestyle Gumbo: Obama's Summer Reads

Summer's for reading, but for President Barack Obama, who is spending part of the season vacationing with family in Martha's Vineyard, it's also about balancing an ambitious book list with family and play time.

The New York Times recently published the Commander-in-Chief's reading list, which, we're happy to report, is full of urban crime novels.

The Way Home by George Pelecanos

Hot, Flat and Crowded by Thomas L. Friedman

Lush Life by Richard Price

Plainsong by Kent Haruf

John Adams by David McCullough

--Whitney Teal

Lit Talk: Anita Diamant

Many readers remember Anita Diamant for her unforgettable bestseller, The Red Tent, the story of Jacob’s daughter Dinah over whom the Book of Genesis glosses over. She writes with poetry and an innate understanding of women. Her latest novel, Day After Night, carries these same strengths and focuses on a group of young women who escaped from Nazi Europe to Israel during World War II. In this 2003 interview with William Novak, Ms. Diamant discusses her Jewish identity and a new mikveh (ritual bath) she has helped to start.

***

What are you thinking about these days?

Mostly Mayyim Hayyim, the new Boston-area mikveh, which should be up and running by the time this is published.[As indeed it is: www.mayyimhayyim.org] I'm spending way too much time on it instead of writing, but it's my choice so I’m not really complaining. I've never done a non-writing project before, or a community project. I've never been much of an activist, or an organization person. I've even written an essay on how much I dislike going to meetings, but now I'm going to them all the time. It’s a complicated process building a mikveh; there’s nothing about them when you look them up in the zoning ordinances.

How did this new mikveh get started?

Anita: For me, it began in the mid-1990s when I was writing Choosing a Jewish Life, a guidebook about conversion. I went to the mikveh a number of times with various rabbis as they took converts. I was also chairing the outreach committee at Congregation Beth El in Sudbury, because I thought it was important for the community to have a representative at conversions, so I would try to show up at conversions of our members with flowers and gifts. Only one mikveh in the area--in Brighton, near Brookline--has been open to the liberal community for conversions, and that's only two hours a week, which makes it tough to schedule. There are other mikva'ot which aren’t open for conversion, including a new, Chabad-sponsored mikveh in the western suburbs.

You mean not open to the non-Orthodox world?

Anita: Yes, although I don't care for that phrase, because it seems to imply that Orthodoxy is normative Judaism in the way it refers to the rest of us are “non.” But the problem of most mikva'ot goes beyond that. There's nowhere to stand, to sit, to celebrate, or even to wait. I've been to many conversions, and each time I am moved to tears by the power of the moment, but I've never seen a mikveh with an appropriate space in which to mark the hour after the immersion--or before, for that matter.

I was at the Boston mikveh one spring afternoon when candidates for conversion in the liberal Jewish community were lined up outside, waiting for their turn, and while it was inspiring to see a dozen or so men, women and children waiting to become Jews, having people lined up outside is not a very graceful or welcoming entry into Judaism. Most mikva'ot are set up only for women to come individually and privately, at the end of their periods. Traditionally the mikveh is used at night for modesty's sake, and also because of how Jews count days.

You use the noun “convert,” although many people go out of their way to avoid it, speaking instead of Jews by choice.

Anita: I think "convert" is an honorific, a title of honor, and I see nothing wrong with it. Being a convert, or a Jew by choice, if you prefer, should be a term of the highest praise. For someone to choose this identity and to embrace it--it's a gift to the rest of us. Neither term is great: "convert" makes me think of currency, and "Jew-by-choice" is a little awkward. In the Torah and in classical Jewish writings, the word is ger, which can also mean stranger or sojourner. "Proselyte" comes from the Greek translation of ger, but it's far too archaic.

Where do you think our discomfort about converts comes from?

Anita: According to Jewish law, we are not supposed to make any distinction between someone who is Jewish by choice and someone who was born Jewish. Evidently, Jews have behaved badly toward converts for a long time: there is mention in the Talmud about Jews making fun of them and talking in demeaning ways about their "pig-eating ancestors." And yet the great majority of comments about converts in the Talmud and the Midrash are favorable, such as, "The convert is dearer to God than Israel." When a convert wrote to Maimonides, asking whether he could recite prayers that included the phrase, Elohei Avoteinu, God of our ancestors, Maimonides answered with a resounding yes, saying, "There is no difference whatever between you and us."

***

The rest of the fascinating interview is available here. Ms. Diamant will be touring the east coast in the upcoming weeks:

Thursday, September 10 at 7:00 p.m.
Newtonville Books
296 Walnut St.
Newtonville, Mass. 02460
617.244.6619

Monday, September 14 at 7:00 p.m.
McNally Jackson Books
52 Prince St.
New York, N.Y. 10012
212.274.1160

Tuesday, September 15 at 7:00 p.m.
Book Revue
313 New York Avenue
Huntington, N.Y. 11743
631.271.1442

--Emmaline Silverman

Photo by Mark Ostow

Bookmarks 8.25.09

Miniature Book Society Grand Conclave in Princeton, N.J. (August 27-31) – A miniature book is defined as a book that is no more than three inches in any dimension, and the vast majority of them are mind-bogglingly cute. At the Wyndham Conference Center this month, the gurus of the art and those with any interest in it will powwow over conferences, exhibits, and social mixers.

Once Upon a Crime’s Anthology Launch Party in Minneapolis, Minn. (August 27, 8:00 p.m.) – The bookstore Once Upon a Crime will have a launch party for its latest anthology of mystery stories this week. There will be no authors reading, but there will likely be detective aficionados sleuthing around with magnifying glasses and trenchcoats. And there will definitely be refreshments.

Publishing Workshop in Reno, Nev. (August 27, 6:00 p.m.) – This workshop, held at the office of LRP/LeRue Press, is ideal for aspiring writers who have high hopes but aren’t quite sure how to get a foot in the door. Gotta start somewhere, right?


2009 Hawaii Writers’ Retreat in Honolulu, Hawaii (August 28-September 3) – Can you even imagine a more idyllic location for a writers’ retreat than at the Outrigger Reef on the Beach in Honolulu? And not only will this retreat be surrounded by palm trees and macadamia nuts, but there will be a highly acclaimed staff of seminar leaders specializing in many genres.

Festa del Libro: A Children’s Italian Book Fair in Corte Madera, Calif. (August 29-30, 9:30 a.m.) – This book fair, held at Book Passage, is a treat for children, Italian students and native speakers, and anyone who enjoys a beautifully illustrated children’s book. Italy’s foremost booksellers will send their finest specimens over, and local bakeries will provide biscotti.


--Emmaline Silverman

Photo: Corbis

The Russki Files: Awesome Women

Russian literature is not exactly known for its heroines. The vast majority of its protagonists are men—brooding, unstable, superfluous men who are too intelligent (or think they are) for the vapid society into which they were born. Behind the heroes, however, there are often women slinking about, pulling strings and being generally awesome. (Spoiler warning below.)

Tatyana Larina (Eugene Onegin, by Aleksandr Pushkin) – Some readers will surely identify with Tanya, a shy and bookish girl who rejects the superficiality of society. When the charming dandy Eugene Onegin comes to dine at her family’s manor, however, she falls head-over-heels in love with him and writes him a letter expressing her adoration. He coolly rejects her. But years later, when she is a mature, married Moscow woman, he realizes his mistake and tries to win her over. Remembering her past and how she has been hurt, she rebuffs his advances. Essentially, Tatyana Larina embodies my long-standing fantasy of being able to tell my high school crushes who paid no attention to me, “Sorry, I’m not interested.”

Sofya Semyonovna Marmeladova (Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky) – Sonya’s life is miserable—an alcoholic father who forced her into prostitution, few friends, no respect—but through her quiet, somewhat fanatical spirituality, she finds strength. This strength converts into a magnificent command over others, and without the influence of her gentle, serene, righteous force, Raskolnikov would never have found the power to confess to his eponymous crime.

Natalya Ilyinichna Rostova (War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy) – Natasha Rostova is, in the context of War and Peace, the ideal Russian woman—and she is not a submissive, reticent, wifely type either. She is impulsive, spontaneous, full of life and light, always game to sing and laugh and make friends. As a young woman she is very beautiful, but once she becomes a mother, she cheerfully lets herself go and becomes dowdy and plump. This does not stop her husband Pierre from being madly in love with her. In fact, it is nigh impossible for anyone to read War and Peace without falling a little bit in love with Natasha.

Agrafena Aleksandrovna Svetlova (The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoevsky) – Agrafena is more commonly known as “Grushenka,” which translates to “little pear.” The nickname is appropriate, for Grushenka is a pear-shaped Russian beauty who holds an astounding power over the men in the community, even sparking a paramount rivalry between Dmitri Karamazov and his father Fyodor. She has amassed a small fortune through lending money and charging exorbitant rates of interest, and has pared down to an art form the manipulation of men using her feminine wiles. Though by today’s standards this may not be considered an admirable thing, during Dostoevsky’s life, feminine wiles were really all women had going for them. I say, more power to her.

--Emmaline Silverman

Photo: Audrey Hepburn as Natasha Rostova in the 1956 film adaptation of War and Peace.

Oh Snap!: Model Citizen

This model in Paris knows what's up: great books never go out of style.

--Nicole Crowder

Photo by Scott Schuman/The Sartorialist

Lit Talk: Author Jonathan Tropper

The dysfunctional family saga is one that has been touched upon many times, but every once in a while a novel comes along that revolutionizes the subgenre. Jonathan Tropper’s This Is Where I Leave You has been hailed as one of these novels, at once side-splitting and heart-rending and cockle-warming. In the interview below, Jonathan talks about his routine and being successful.

***

When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
It's hard to pinpoint. I was always an avid reader. I remember, when I was in high school, reading The Stand, by Stephen King and thinking, at some point, that it must be fantastic to be able to be able to make a living just telling stories. But I think it was years before I actually really considered giving it a try. And then there were all those years of denial, when I wouldn't admit to myself that I wanted to try, because failure was such a large possibility. So I probably lost a few years there, and then, at some point, it just became imperative to give it a real shot. I think it helped not being particularly interested in anything else.

How did you get published?
I wrote a book that I thought was pretty good. I submitted to about fifty agencies and a handful of publishers and got rejected across the board. So I gave it up for a while, but never stopped reading. A few years later I felt the urge to write again. This time there was more urgency to it. I felt I actually had something to say. So I wrote what would become Plan B, my first novel, sent out query letters, got interest from a handful of agents, signed with one of them, and few months later we had a deal at St. Martin's Press.

Your books tend to be about people dealing with very serious, sometimes tragic life-issues, and yet they're all very funny. Why do you think you tell your stories in such a funny way?
Because that's how life really is. No matter what you're going through, there's comedy to be found. And if you ignore the comedy, than life is just one long funeral. I'm the guy who laughs at a funeral and cries at American Express commercials. You have to be open to the full spectrum of emotional responses. So I try to write books that convey that range. I want you to be moved, maybe to tears, but also to laugh your ass off.

Three of your novels are in development as motion pictures. What do you think it is about your novels that has captured Hollywood's interest?
I couldn't say for sure, but I write very character driven novels. I work very hard to create three dimensional, flawed, interesting, and occasionally over-the-top characters. And I think interesting characters are in demand in Hollywood. Interesting characters attract top shelf actors, who in turn, attract the rest of the talent, and then the financing, which is what ultimately gets a movie made. It all starts from the characters, so I think, when producers are moved b characters, they see a project that has the potential to attract talent.

Are you a disciplined writer? Do you write every day? Do you follow an outline?
I'm a terribly undisciplined writer. I do try to write every day, try to treat it like a job; show up by nine, put in a full day, etc. But it's hard when it's such a solitary process. There are good days and there are bad days. I never start with an outline, I start with a character, and after I've written about that character for a while, I start outlining the novel, but I never seem to follow my outlines anyway. So it just becomes a mess of chapters until finally, hopefully, the book presents itself. I tend to write a lot more than actually makes it into the book.
***

The full interview is available at Jonathan’s website, and you can catch him at these East Coast locations in the upcoming weeks:

Tuesday, August 25 at 7:15 p.m.
215 Sycamore St.
Decatur, Ga. 30030
404.370.8450

Thursday, August 27 at 7:00 p.m.
Inkwood Books
216 South Armenia Avenue
Tampa, Fla. 33609
813.253.2638

Tuesday, September 1 at 7:00 p.m.
The Odyssey Bookshop
9 College St. #4
South Hadley, Mass. 01075
413.547.7307

--Emmaline Silverman

Photo: Jonathantropper.com

Around the Web: Shaved Heads + Fag Hags

For ladies seeking hair liberation, Honey brings you a few tips to ease the transition when you decide to get “chopped and screwed”: aka, shave it all off. [via Honey Mag]

She sure doesn’t sound like Nicole Kidman: a clip of Virginia’s Woolf’s voice was recently released, the only one known. [via Jezebel]

We live in a “rape culture”, asserts a new video. Could we really live in a culture of fear and political correctness? [via Double X]

A list of the Top 10 Sexiest Chefs, from Colicchio to Cora. Let’s just say I’ve got absolutely no reservations. [via Nerve]

“I can be your fag hag, and you can be my gay,” sings Lily Allen in her new album. But according to this writer, the era of the “gay boyfriend” is overdone, and simply done. [via Salon]

Catch the season premier of Mad Men on Monday? If not, beware of spoilers, in Feministing’s analysis of some of the show’s key moments. [via Feministing]

--Allison Geller

Photo: HotAtlantaBuzz

Bookmarks 8.18.09

Nuclear Poetry: ACCELERATION in New York, N.Y. (August 18, 8:30 p.m.) - Join the hippest writers on New York’s experimental literary scene for a night of drinks, reading, music, and inspiration. The basement of Elmo’s Restaurant will be transformed into a “literary bomb shelter” as the Nuclear Poetry movement gears up for its first anniversary show on September 15.

A Night of Literary Laughs in Minneapolis, Minn. (August 19, 7:30 p.m.) – Celebrate the light-hearted side of being a book nerd with a lecture on literary hoaxes, five-minute book reports, slide shows, and various activities of bookish fun. The event, which will take place at The Soap Factory, will mark the release of an issue of Granta Magazine.


Julia Child’s Birthday Celebration in Menlo Park, Calif. (August 20, 6:00 p.m.) – Kepler’s Books will ride Julia Child’s wave of popularity with this tasty open house, which will provide champagne, cake, and a chance to peruse the cookbook selection and share notes with other foodies.
URL: http://www.keplers.com/

Translate in the Catskills in Hunter, N.Y. (August 21-23) – This weekend retreat, held at the scenic Catskill Mountain Foundation, will feature seminars and workshops on the art of translation, for skilled translators and those just breaking into the career. There will also be a star-gazing session for people who are sick of city light pollution and want to stare up into a clear mountain night.

31st Annual YMCA Book Fair in St. Louis, Mo. (August 21-26) – At the Kennedy Recreation Center, the YMCA will sell books in over 60 categories at pocket-change prices. In 1978, this book fair was an understated one-day affair, and it has since exploded into an enormous six-day extravaganza, perfect for bargain-loving readers.

--Emmaline Silverman

Photo by reconstructionist/Flickr