Short Takes
March 17, 2011
Would YOU read this book?
The novel — let’s skip the title and author — was highly praised. (Sarah Gruen called it "haunting.") And then one of you suggested it. So I got it. And started to read. Here’s the set-up: A married woman, late in her pregnancy, has stomach pains. She’s just moved into a new house. Husband’s at work. Phone’s not connected. She stumbles to a neighbor. Doesn’t know the name of the local hospital and doesn’t ask. Doesn’t remember her former doctor’s number and, though weeks away from the delivery room, has no new doctor. So she calls her father, who lives in this city. He’ll call a cab. She doesn’t know her address; she has to ask her neighbor. In the cab, she realizes she has no wallet. At the hospital, she has no ID. (Amazingly, she does know her social security number and date of birth.) They tell her to go to the back of the line, and she does. Maybe it’s just me, and maybe I’m just testy, but I ask you: Is this woman an idiot, or what? And having read the first chapter of this allegedly realistic novel, would you go on to the next?
March 12, 2011
‘All in a dream, all in a dream the loading had begin…’
I was thinking about Japan and the irony of atomic energy there, and then I thought of this. Nostalgia often softens the edge of greatness. But not here.
March 10, 2011
I never do this, but….
March 10, 2011 — A few days ago, the New York Times published a story about the rape of an 11-year old girl in Texas by as many 18 men, some teenagers, some adults. A few of the suspects proudly recorded the attack on their video-equipped cell phones. Almost as incredible as the attack: in his article, the Times reporter extensively quoted members of the community, who said “She dressed older than her age, wearing makeup and fashions more appropriate to a woman in her 20s” and “These boys have to live with this the rest of their lives” — classic “blame the victim” remarks that were uncontested in the article and suggest a greater concern for the alleged perpetrators than the victim. Here’s the Times piece. I urge you to read it for yourself. And then, if you feel like signing an online petition calling on the Times to issue an apology and publish an editorial from a victim’s rights expert, click here. [March 12 update: Arthur Brisbane, the Public Editor of the Times, has commented. Reader outrage, he said, is "understandable." A follow-up piece is planned.]
March 8, 2011
Josh Ritter: Not a CD, Not a Concert….A Book!
Josh Ritter has written a novel. Between concerts and writing songs and recording them — in what you and I would call spare time. Bright’s Passage has terrific credentials: Random House/Dial Press, praise from a Poet Laureate. It’s not out until June 28th, but you can read Chapter One now.
March 7, 2011
Gonna Wash Those Knots Right Outta My Hair
Of 406 customer reviews on Amazon, Wen Tea Cleansing Conditioner gets 218 5-star and 70 4-star reviews. Add two more 5-star raves from the females here — after the first use, our daughter ran a brush through her hair and encountered not a single knot. Is that big? It is huge. Yes, this stuff costs. But what’s it worth to have great hair — and no tears?
