November 30, 2005
My Summer Reading Project
I have decided to devote my summer vacation, and indeed I am in long term forecast mode for it is not yet December but, to re-reading novels. Far too many of my books have not been experienced to their full potential, and I want to read them again. So far my reading list includes: White Teeth by Zadie Smith, Howard’s End by EM Forster, Franny and Zooey by JD Salinger, Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood, Headhunter by Timothy Findlay, The Radiant Way by Margaret Drabble, Possession by AS Byatt, Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry, The Fire Dwellers by Margaret Laurence, Lives of Girls and Women by Alice Munro, Unless by Carol Shields, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith and The Hours by Michael Cunningham. All of these are books I have really enjoyed, but I read some in high school and would like to revisit them, or I read them in university classes and would like to try them without training wheels, or I loved them so much I devoured them without pondering them as much as I should have. As well as rereading novels, I want to read letters and diaries of writers, which I’ve never done enough of.
July 18, 2005
Konstantin
I love Margaret Drabble. I am reading the afore mentioned “Gates of Ivory” and absolutely loving it. It’s the final book in “The Radiant Way” trilogy, which got me on my Drabble kick in the first place, though it concerns less the three women of the first two books than one of their friends, Stephen Cox, who is missing somewhere in Asia. In Thailand, he has met up with a young photographer called Konstantin Vassiliou who I realised was a character in “The Needle’s Eye”, which was published in 1972. “Gates of Ivory” was published two decades later. In the former, Konstantin was the son of the main character, maybe ten years old? And now he turns up again, grown up in the mid-eighties. There is no reason that had to have happened. Konstantin in “The Needle’s Eye” could have been a forgettable character, and that Margaret Drabble would choose to resurrect him is just fascinating. I look forward to finding out why she did as the story develops. Her characters frequently recur, but just in passing. I absolutely love that world.
July 14, 2005
It's not easy
Lionel Shriver’s strange column, volume two. She doubts Tony Blair’s ability to stand up to terrorists, in light of concessions made toward terrorists in Northern Ireland. It’s a complicated issue, and perhaps she draws parallels too quickly. I think when you have to live with people who harbour some legitimate grievences against you, compromise is necessary if you want to move out of the Dark Ages. In Italy, ignorant people engage in print warfare. It’s drawn parallels to this story, as Theo Van Gogh’s murderer goes on trial in Holland. There is no black and white anymore, no room for sweeping statements. Living together has become unbelievably complicated and requires an open mind.
I enjoyed “The Dialectic of Fat” from Ms. The article talks about the centrality of women’s weight to her identity, double standards, fat as a feminist issue and the new globalisation of eating disorders. I find it so interesting to look at the way Western media has affected women’s body images internationally. It’s sometimes difficult to strike a balance between these feminist fat acceptance ideas, and the fact they could be seen as excuses to be unhealthy. I think the former is more important. The article mentions the amount of time women spend at the gym these days, and how many of these women really are seeking health over thinness. It’s an absolute fixation for most women I know, regardless of what they actually weigh, and really there are so many more important things to worry about.
Found The Gates of Ivory by Margaret Drabble today in a used bookshop. It’s the final book of the Radiant Way trilogy, the first of which was absolutely brilliant and the second (A Natural Curiousity) which I enjoyed. I’ve never seen it used (or new- it’s out of print now) and the spine wasn’t even cracked. So now I have all the Drabbles except “The Red Queen” which isn’t in paperback yet anyway. And we saw Dr Barnardo’s Children tonight. It was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen, so moving and entertaining. It’s such an important story and was told in such an honest way. We also went to our wedding reception venue to check it out and it was lovely. Tomorrow we’re renting a sander to get ready to repaint some furniture for our new apartment and selecting flowers for the wedding, and perhaps going for a ride on our boat on Clear Lake.
