The Roaring 20s

Fanglish 101

I didn't make it to Harvard while visiting Beantown this weekend, but this morning finds me wishing that I had.  My colleague, the awesome @dianagill, sent along word that one of our authors, Kim Harrison, is being read for English E-212 : The Vampire in Literature and Film.  Byron, True Blood, Twilight? Oh, to be an undergrad again! I would sleep til 11, then posit and theorize with the best of them in my 12 pm class.  I'd "unpack" misogyny and desire in Stephenie Meyer...I'd talk about the way in which Charlaine Harris conceptualizes the "Other," and then I'd bring it back home and talk about teen sexuality in Buffy.  But, alas, since I am indeed at the office today, I'll have to be content with my own, credit-less independent study.  Putting my nerdiness aside for a moment...what do you think--would you enroll in the class? Does an academic look at vamps suck the fun right out of it? 

English 101 Reads: The Sheltering Sky

Monday night I was feeling particularly run-down, and decided to treat myself to a little R&R: the last few chapters of The Sheltering Sky and a makeshift hot toddy.  I've been mulling over the book since then, so without further delay, here's my impromptu review. 

Generally, when I hear something--anything--takes place in the desert, I'm immediately turned off (not sorry to report that this applies to the second Sex and the City movie).  That being said, there was something so surreally and harshly beautiful about the setting of The Sheltering Sky.  The narrative moves fluidly across Northern Africa, charting a married American couple, Kit and Port, as they attempt to find one another again--maybe even for the first time.  The Sheltering Sky is a sweeping, modern epic in which Paul Bowles tackles post-colonialism, emotional intimacy, infidelity, and philosophical inquiry.  It is both languid and urgent, and contains some of the most vivid landscapes I've ever encountered in a novel. 

The book is vastly superior to the film trailer below, which is obscenely, hilariously cheesy. Might I also add, the line about "a woman's dangerous and erotic journey" had me thinking about Seinfeld (Rochelle, Rochelle: "a young girl's erotic journey from Milan to Minsk").  Enjoy the trailer, check out our reading schedule, and be sure to try The Sheltering Sky--it definitely deserves a read.  Tune in next month for our reviews of another American classic, the timeless To Kill a Mockingbird.

English 101 Reads: Brave New World

From George Orwell's 1984 to Sarah Hall's Daughters of the North, I've been known to love a good dystopian novel.  Brave New World was one of my first forays into the genre, and I was thrilled to re-read it for English 101, our Modern Classics Book Club.  10 years later, the writing is just as eloquent--just as eccentric and unique--as I remember. I mutilated my copy a bit, and took to underlining gorgeous passages like this one:

"The sultry darkness into which the students now followed him was visible and crimson, like the darkness of closed eyes on a summer's afternoon." 

Meanwhile, the repeated allusions to Shakespeare had me in heaven. Huxley was also known to admire T.S. Eliot, and nowhere is this more visible than in the third chapter of the book, which segues into multiple and separate lines of narrative: an incredible effect.  As far as the story itself, like Lauren, I feel that the key to enjoying the book in 2010 is to avoid harping on the fallacies of Huxley's predictions.  If you can treat his universe as an alternate reality (how very Lost of me), you will be rewarded.  The allegory of the book borders on the didactic, but from a philosophical perspective, Brave New World is entirely worth the read.  Huxley poses questions about happiness, conformity, sex, love, and human connection that will linger on in your mind long after the novel's close.  At the very least, you might find yourself wondering where to find soma, green velveteen viscose shorts, contraceptive belts, or scent machines.  Have you read Brave New World? Loved it, hated it, couldn't care less about it? Leave a comment, tweet with the hashtag #english101, check out Erica and Lauren's reviews, and click here for this year's schedule of modern classics.    

The Great Lover

You can tell that Jill Dawson is a poet.  By that, I mean her prose is sumptuous.  It's been a long time since I read a book and underlined passages, but I found myself doing just that for The Great Lover.  Dawson's imagery is so wonderfully inventive, her metaphors so surprising, I was a bit in awe.  If you're a fan of A.S. Byatt or Ian McEwan, I think it's safe to say you'll enjoy this book. The Great Lover tells the story of Rupert Brooke, the charismatic, troubled and talented English poet of the early 20th century.  Along with excerpts of Brooke's poetry and letters, there are two narratives: Rupert's distinct voice, and that of Nell Golightly, the complex, spirited housemaid who falls in love with him.  The Great Lover is a sharp look at love--who we adore and why-- and all the myriad, unanswered questions of the human heart.  It's a few months before the book comes out here, but I just had to share.  With any luck, you'll want to score yourself a copy on June 1st.       

Books to Cure the 'Turkey Drop' Blues

If you haven't heard of the sinister phenomenon known as the 'Turkey Drop,' I am here to inform you.  Jezebel (courtesy of NPR) tells us that the 'Turkey Drop' is a break-up which occurs after Thanksgiving and before Christmas, most commonly seen among college freshmen.  The 'Turkey Drop' is a break-up which is catalyzed partially, or mostly, by the stress of the holidays.   It's only a rock-solid relationship that can withstand the barrage of drunken relatives, embarrassing family anecdotes, holiday weight-gain, and table-side political arguments.  If you, or a loved one, is the victim of a Turkey Drop, here are two books that might soften the blow in ways sweet potato pie cannot:

Six-Word Memoirs on Love and Heartbreak

 

 

Relationship Obits

If you like your romantic debacles in poetry form, do yourself a favor and check out my co-worker Lauren's blog, Bad Date Lemonade.  When Lauren isn't writing missives on course adoptions and processing desk copy requests, she posts haikus, sonnets, and free verse inspired by traumatic dating experiences.  As a bonus, if you can spot which poem is mine (names have been changed) I'll give you your choice of the two books I just mentioned. 

Now go cry into your pie.  

What's the Best Sex Scene in Literature?

Short of bad sex itself, is there anything worse than a bad sex scene? Luckily for us, the UK's Literary Review has come up with this year's shortlist for the worst sex scene of 2009.  (Just a sidenote, I love how The Guardian wrote about the "stiff competition.") Anyway, the shortlist is out, and author Sarah Duncan is blogging about the difficulty of writing good sex scenes: passages that transport you, arouse you, and/or deal with the logistics of making love successfully.  My highbrow choice is this excerpt from Lady Chatterley's Lover.  My low-brow choice is one steamy sex-act in a stairwell from Linda Howard's Son of the Morning.  What's your favorite sex scene in literature? Don't worry, I won't judge.