An Embarrassment of Riches

Green for Danger - By Rachael Setting: war time hospital, British nurses and doctors brave and true. Ah, we’re in for a pleasant propaganda piece, Mrs. Miniver style..

But no: that doctor is leering at that nurse. He’s cruel and filled with hubris. And that nurse is hiding something. Ahh! They’re all hiding something!

Here comes Alastair Sim, three parts Columbo and one part Chevy Chase, to sort them.

Green for Danger!

What a Funny Dream - by Rachael I first saw the 1941 ball of fluff Tom, Dick and Harry on AMC back in the Bob Dorian days. Recently it finally became available on DVD from the Warner Archive.

Ginger Rogers stars as flighty Janie, who becomes engaged to three men in the course of three days.  Each night Janie has a strange, frenetic dream of her future with the man she pledged herself to that day. She slowly rubs the face of an elderly woman, saying “My husband works for your husband.” She poses for the paparazzi, saying “I’m so dazzling that everyone has to wear sunglasses.”  She has a passel of babies who are miniature versions of her various fiances, and before it’s over she dreams of marrying all three at once.

On the surface, Janie is an empty headed young lady who sees getting a rich man as the height of all that is possible for her. But, sometimes subtly and sometimes not-so, the movie is skewering the whole idea of that desire.

The waking hours are great -- the little sister name Butch, Phil Silvers as an ice cream salesman, and a very young Burgess Meredith as fiance #2 all shine almost as brightly as Ginger. But the dreams are the summit of achievement in the history of highly comedic dream sequences.

Small Change - by Rachael Recently I was digging around for something to satisfy me in the same way that Connie Willis' Oxford Time Travel series does and I dragged up the Small Change Series by Jo Walton. I am deep into book two, and I love it.

Book One, Farthing, is a Christie/Sayers-style country house mystery, the stakes increased enormously by the fact that this 1949 England has made peace with Hitler and the murder in question may push the country decidedly into fascism. The book is deceptively modest -- "oh, I'm just a mystery with a funny bit of alternate history, don't mind me" it whispers -- but manages to pull off a riveting whodunit, a chilling 'it really could have happened', and a lovely portrait of how brave everyday people can be.

Book Two, Ha'Penny, replaces the 'whodunit' with an effort to assassinate Hitler. But this isn't just a fantasy of derring-do in the face of evil. People who dream of a free England ally with Stalinists in order to accomplish their ends, good people are killed by other good people in the effort to do What Must Be Done. In other words, Walton acknowledges that the world is complicated while keeping the pages flying by.

The third and final book is Half a Crown, & I almost can't bear how much I want everything to be OK by the end of this reality-that-wasn't.

Haiku Review: The City and the City - by Rachael

One City prospers
One City falters and fades
Chosen perceptions

The City and the City by China Miéville

The Sorbet Theory - by Rachael

All of us have times when no book satisfies. An empty space screams for a good read, but one after another disappoints. You want something that is just like X, but also completely different. Something intelligent but not too cute about it. Something comfortable but not worn out.

The one book that will cure your no-book blues is: ha! Just kidding. We’re all different, and different today than we were yesterday. I picked up The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay three times before it drew me in, but when it did I discovered it was a wonderfully written bit of the divine, the Book I Needed.

I’m developing a theory on how to break through these moments: Don’t dip into your ‘to-read’ list, instead, take a leap into the unknown. Always chasing the latest Booker Prize winner? How about a thriller, say, L A Outlaws: good cop meets bandit queen schoolteacher. Been on a Scandinavian mystery bender? Try a historical novel, maybe An Instance of the Fingerpost: chunky, complex & brilliant.

In other words, when everything tastes tired, refresh your palate. And remember: we're here to help.

Move Over Zombies - the Robots are Coming - by Alison and Rachael

You know it’s only a matter of time - already your computer corrects you when you make a typo or reminds you to take your vitamins. Pretty soon they’ll be sentient, and when they wise up and start taking a look at the mess mankind has made of the planet they might come up with a highly organized plan to fix it - a plan includes getting rid of the species that mucked everything up in the first place. That’s the premise behind Daniel H.Wilson’s Robopocalypse.

In a not so future world, just about every manufactured thing includes a computer chip. Your car has a computer, your vacuum cleaner has a computer, the building you live in has a computer that regulates the light and the heat. Companion robots help with all aspects of your life. It's a wonderful world until a master computer surpasses its maker and becomes sentient. It determines that mankind is a species that has become an infestation. Linking itself to all the computers in the world, large and small, it begins to direct a plan of human annihilation. Suddenly crossing the street or walking through an automatic door becomes a life and death matter.Wilson's familiarity with robots comes from his work as a robotics engineer. The book is slated to be made into a film in 2013, with Stephen Spielberg directing.

Wilson's work is thrilling stuff, comfortably on the side of fiction. A more optimistic view of the rise of our robot overlords is found in the nonfiction work The Singularity is Near by Ray Kurzweil. His view is that soon (yes, soon) the ever-doubling power of computer chips will lead to computers solving problems that are beyond humanity's grasp. And humanity will cross into a new reality.

So is it the fight of our lives, or nanobot-enabled immortality? Either way, I'm not ready.

Flann O'Brien Centenary

Flann O'Brien, né Brian O'Nolan, aka Myles na gCopaleen was born 100 years ago today.

I've been an O'Flanngelist since I was a teen. His novels are exuberant, wildly intelligent, and like nothing else.

NPR called his The Third Policeman "The funniest, and scariest, book ever written." Narrated by an amoral would-be academic, it features fake footnotes, policemen who greet every inquiry with "Is it about a bicycle?", and...er...eternity. Our hero, such as he is, has lost his gold watch, much to the disbelief of the policeman who cannot imagine why anyone would steal anything other than a bicycle. "Never in my puff did I hear of any man stealing anything but a bicycle when he was in his sane senses. [...] If we ever find the watch I have a feeling there will be a bell and pump on it."

It may be too late to get to Dublin in time for the Centenary Conference, but surely you can secure some sort of transportation -- a bicycle, perhaps -- and become acquainted with Flann.

Talk to Me, Mr. Prebble - by Rachael Those of us who listen to audio books know that the reader is at least as important as the story. After a few unpleasant voices the great ones become precious, their names as treasured as those of favorite authors.

My three favorite audio book readers are, in order of discovery, Davina Porter, Patrick Tull, and Simon Prebble.

Davina Porter made Tess of the d’Ubervilles a riveting soap opera, the action of which I would breathlessly summarize for my husband every day. And her Scottish accent was the perfect match for the Sunday Philosophy Club series.

I had made two attempts at reading (with my eyes) Patrick O'Brian’s Master and Commander before trying Patrick Tull’s rendition -- Tull’s voice was what I needed in order to understand and love the characters and their friendship, and he made the lists of ship minutiae in the Aubrey/Maturian series into something lovely and lilting.

And my latest discovery, Prebble, has the wonderful trait of embodying various characters without seeming ‘thespian-y’. My favorite of his so far is Don't Point that Thing at Me, which the library owns as an MP3. He so perfectly transmitted the author's humor that he had me chortling goofily as I rode the bus. Talk to me, Mr. Prebble. 

China Mountain Zing! - by Rachael Is there anything as sweet as discovering a new author?

I found one this month, Maureen McHugh, and I have Jo Walton to thank for it.
 
In her blog post revisiting the 1993 Hugo Awards she mentioned one of the nominees, China Mountain Zhang, with an adamant "It's wonderful" that intrigued me.
 
I grabbed it. I loved it.
 
The time is the near future -- after a Second Great Depression, China dominates the world. The US has gone through it's own Cultural Revolution -- a 'Cleansing Wind' -- and has settled down into Socialism. But economics and ideology are not the focus, they are only the background of the characters' lives.
 
The main character is Zhang Zhong Shan. He pretends to be things that he is not: 100% Chinese (he is half Hispanic), straight (he is gay). At the beginning he is not honest with himself, he does not know what he wants, and he is hard to like. But with the finest shown-not-told writing, McHugh brings him from being to a boy to being a mensch. I grew to love him, to be excited for him as he learned new things and began to be capable of making the world better. And as I learned to love him I gained understanding of why he had been the person he was: ashamed, torn, young.

In short, "It's wonderful."

Hardboiled - by Rachael Recently a fellow library employee was looking for some books to keep her company on a long plane ride. She took advantage of our “Looking for a good read?” form, requesting noir-like mysteries with “an engaging narrative, compelling characters, and an overall doesn't-insult-your-intelligence-ness”.

I was excited to answer this question because I love noir, and I love leading people to books. My first suggestion was Dashiell Hammett – his characters suffer, and his language really sings. Among his best works is Red Harvest, in which a nameless detective is called to the corporate town of Personville (the locals call it Poisonville) and becomes embroiled in byzantine back-stabbing. Our poor Continental Op always seems to think he’s one step ahead when he’s one step behind. The cast includes gangsters, union men and heartless capitalists. No one is better than Hammett at writing a sentence – every word pulls the weight of three.
 
A lesser known noir author is Chester Himes. His detectives Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson investigate crimes in Harlem. The language isn’t quite Hammett (nothing is, in my opinion -- not even Chandler), but it’s good, some of his metaphors really make you sit up. And this is popular fiction written in the 1950s by a black man about black people – a rare bird. The first book in the series is A Rage in Harlem.
 
One author that I did not suggest to my co-worker, but I will here, is James M. Cain. Cain was originally from Maryland (where he formed a close friendship with H. L. Mencken), but did not find his voice until he came out west. Western working people were his muse, and he wrote about them with a succinct and grim humor. His best books went on to be made into some of the greatest noir movies – The Postman Always Rings Twice, Double Indemnity, and Mildred Pierce. 

Boudu Saved From Drowning - by Rachael It is a rare and wonderful thing when something makes me laugh so hard that I cry.

Recently it happened while watching the Colbert Report. Mr. Colbert was ostensibly getting etiquette lessons from a fellow who is apparently a Professional Proper Englishman. Colbert is utterly unconstrained: he has no rules to follow. He eats sugar by the spoonful, lets a cupful of cream slide down his chin. The Englishman is defined by rules. He is outraged, perhaps even angry, but he can hardly show it. He can only murmur ‘No, you musn’t’. And the more he protests, the more outrageous Colbert’s behavior becomes, spurned on by his foil.

The scene very much reminded me of the Jean Renoir movie that made me laugh just as hard, Boudu Saved from Drowning (Boudu sauvé des eaux). A homeless man is ‘saved’ by a middle class family, and what ensues is a great deal like Colbert and the Professional Proper. Boudu spits out his beer, he wipes chocolate on the duvet. He does not follow the rules, and it is enormously funny.

If you think that a movie made in 1932 is too darn old, or you're not a fan of subtitles, check out this YouTube trailer and reconsider. The Criterion print is lovely, and the film is a true treat.

Preston Sturges! (Sung maniacally, to the tune of “Western Union”.) - by Rachael

Preston Sturges is the absolute King of the Romantic Comedy, in my opinion, and though I am a chronic equivocator, this is one area where I hold steadfast. Sure, there’s Lubitsch. Sure, there’s Capra. Yes, there’s also Wilder. Those are all great points. But Sturges is King. (As I imagine is obvious, if it’s post-1965 I’m agin' it. ‘Romantic Comedy-wise’ as Jack Lemmon’s character in The Apartment would say.)

It’s a tough choice, but at the top of my ranked-Sturges list is The Palm Beach Story. It stars the iridescent Claudette Colbert – she also starred in The Smiling Lieutenant (Lubitsch) and It Happened One Night (Capra), and it’s no accident that those are my favorites in their respective oeuvres. Recounting the plot would only provide a pale reflection, so I’ll just say this: "You have no idea what a long-legged woman can do without doing anything”.

The Onion’s AV Club did a fantastic ‘primer’on Sturges a few months ago. The writer describes Veronica Lake’s introduction in Sullivan’s Travels as “machine-gun screwball flirtation at its finest, conversation as half blood-sport, half seduction”. Yes, that’s Sturges.

Following Kage Baker - by Rachael

There are only four of authors I "follow", eagerly awaiting each new book. I even have alerts set up in the 'Books in Print' database available through the library – as soon as any of them have a new book announced, I get an email. They are: Kate Atkinson, Connie Willis, Laurie R. King, and Kage Baker. 

I remember my discovery of Baker very distinctly. I read the review of her first novel, In the Garden of Iden, in Library Journal in October 1997, which summarized the plot as follows: “The initial assignment for 18-year-old Mendoza, transformed into an immortal cyborg by the 24th-century Company, is to retrieve from Renaissance England an endangered plant that cures cancer. Posing as a Spanish lady accompanying her doctor father, she falls in love with the mortal Nicholas Harpole, secretary to the owner of Iden Hall and its exotic gardens. Amidst the raging Catholic/Protestant powerplays revolving around the English throne and the fervent religious bloodlust of common folk, Mendoza is torn between her task and her love.” Immortality, time travel, and the Reformation! I was highly intrigued. The next week I saw a copy on the new book shelf, and a love affair began. Oh, the highs and lows as I followed The Botanist Mendoza through centuries of pining over Nicholas (and his Company-fabricated reincarnations). Oh, the horrendous cover art. Before it was over, The Company series spanned nine novels, two short story collections, and four novellas. I loved Baker’s characters, and while I occasionally had serious problems with her plot choices, I was passionate about everything she wrote.

Her other series has no name, and is usually referred by the title of the first book, Anvil of the World. Each of these humorous, original fantasies stands up well on its own. My favorite is House of the Stag, which chronicles the life of the half-demon Gard from outcast among the extremely-peace-loving Yendri, to slave held by evil magicians, to his adulthood as Master of the Mountain – loving father, devoted husband, feared by the entire continent.

There will be no more 'alerts' for Kage Baker. This year we lost her.

The library’s stock of In the Garden of Iden had dwindled down to one copy, but it was recently reprinted and more are on the way. Don’t let the cover art scare you.

The Library - Your Source for Halloween Horror - by Rachael

Whether you're looking for classic chills
From James, Shelley, and Jackson

Or seeking fresh and bloody thrills
From Harris, King, and Cronin
Come to MCL, where the shelves are rife
With haunted houses and demon strife!

Farewell Patricia Neal - by Rachael

The actress Patricia Neal died on August 8. She starred in one of my all-time favorite movies, A Face in the Crowd.

In any opportunity to wax on about A Face in the Crowd I tend to emphasize Neal’s co-star, Andy Griffith, who plays a lecherous, greedy, manipulative television star. Griffith’s charisma is incredible, and as we all know him so well as Sherriff Taylor it is mind-blowing to see him as Taylor’s evil twin, "Lonesome" Rhodes.

That topic exhausted, I will enthusiastically move on to the movie’s intelligent and hilarious take on television. 1957 seems awful early for such a biting and accurate indictment. Keep your eye on that rating!

But Neal’s character is the soul of the movie. She is the one who discovers and promotes "Lonesome" Rhodes, and who must destroy him. Because Rhodes is not simply crass. He is a fascist, and he plans to use his popularity to do real evil. Neal’s character is no raft borne by the tide; she is a moral creature and a true adult. And that makes A Face in the Crowd an all-too-rare treat: a movie in which a woman has world-changing power and responsibility.