The Roaring 20s

Daughter of Fortune

It's been a while since I read a book and didn't want it to end...but that's exactly what happened with Isabel Allende's Daughter of Fortune, our fourth pick for this year.  In case you're new to the blog, Erica and I have been reading our best modern classics for a book club we have termed English 101.  If you're reluctant to read historical fiction like Erica was, I can assure you--this book is so accessible, and the characters so compelling, you won't give a fig about the corsets.  The historical details ground the novel, only serving to enhance the story, which sweeps through 19th century China, Chile, and California. Eliza is a heroine of the first order: vivacious, flawed, and entirely courageous.  Her search for identity, and love, takes her from the drawing rooms of Valparaiso to the lawless hills of California during the gold rush, transcending the limitations of her gender in the process.  When I closed the book, sitting on the promenade under the Brooklyn Bridge, I almost expected to look up and see the Golden Gate instead.  Reading Allende for the first time was also pretty incredible: before I was 20 pages into the book, I was lulled by the charm of her narrative, trusting myself entirely to her storytelling.  I wasn't disappointed.  Have you read Daughter of Fortune? What did you think? If you're one of the first five to comment, I'll send you a book.  Happy reading!

Death Becomes Them

Here in New York publishers are celebrating a hectic season of Fall releases.  With that in mind, I've taken to calling September "The Month of the Book Party."  One of the highlights was last week's launch party for Death Becomes Them (9780061728563) by Alix Strauss.  675 Hudson, a cave-like space in the Meatpacking District, was arrayed with morbidly fun touches, from themed playlists (lots of Elliott Smith and Kurt Cobain) to drinks like the 'Virginia Woolf,' which was garnished with a swedish fish to symbolize her drowning.  It was definitely an event to remember.  Death Becomes Them: Unearthing the Suicides of the Brilliant, the Famous, and the Notorious delivers a fond farewell to some of the most important figures of our society, from Hunter S. Thompson to Diane Arbus.  I found the details of the suicides fascinating, especially the chapter on Anne Sexton, one of my all-time favorite poets, who drank vodka and decked herself in her mother's fur before turning the car's ignition on.  Death Becomes Them is an important look at the artists, writers, actors, and political figures of our day, as well as the way our final end can imitate the way in which we lived.  For more info, check out the video and browse inside the book.     

The Real Roaring 20s?

Yesterday on Jezebel I spotted this awesome post on flappers, which asks the following: "Was the flapper a proto-feminist, or a betrayer of suffragettes?" As a 20something in New York, I can easily identify with the pastimes of the flappers, if not the hairstyles or fashions.  Do I consider myself a feminist? Unequivocally.  The post brings up some excellent points on third wave feminism, as well as linking to a fabulous post on the history of the flapper, courtesy of mental_floss.  If you're unfamiliar with the site, do yourself a favor and check it out: there's a wealth of information there, all in an easily digestible format.  And don't miss mental_floss Presents Be Amazing (9780061251481): a hilarious how-to guide, on sale now.  And yes, I cropped my face and pasted it on Clara Bow.  Don't judge!

The Hidden

It's Friday, which brings up an age-old question for me: what to read over the weekend? It's too bad I've already finished Tobias Hill's excellent book, The Hidden: a stirring, literary thriller that takes place during an archaeological dig in modern-day Sparta.   Ben Mercer is a student at Oxford, who leaves behind a failed marriage and baby daughter to travel to Greece in the hopes of escaping himself.  What he finds insteadis a high-risk dig where the archaeological team has as many secrets as the ancient Spartans who they idolize.  Hill deftly draws some fantastic, compelling characters--the brutal and mercenary intellectual, Eberhard, or the beautiful and ambivalent Natsuko.  Adding to the interest of the book is its structure--the main plot is interspliced with fascinating notes on the history of Sparta. 

The Hidden is a rare find, with searing writing and a plot to match.  One of my favorite authors, A.S. Byatt, has said that Hill is “one of the two or three most original and interesting young novelists working in Britain today. . . . There is no other voice today quite like his.”  Look out for The Hidden when it hits shelves on October 13th.