Hi everyone!
With tomorrow's unofficial start to the 4th of July "weekend" I thought I'd use this column today to highlight some of the books I've been reading -- or are on my summer beach reading list -- in case any of you are looking for a great read while working on that tan at the beach. These aren't in any particular order. Some I've read, while others are waiting to be read on my ever-growing stack of must-read books.
1) "The Son" by Philipp Meyer. I raved about this epic American western a couple weeks ago before I had even finished it, and now that I have, I'm still raving. A sweeping yet compellingly intimate novel spanning close to 200 years that's as vast as the Texas landscape it describes. For fans of Cormac McCarthy's "Blood Meridian", Larry McMurtry's "Lonesome Dove", and Edna Ferber's "Giant", it chronicles four generations of a Texas ranch family. The characters are uncompromising, violent, and utterly unsympathetic in their thoughts and actions, yet somehow Mr. Meyer makes you care about these people and long to cut loose on the harsh but beautiful Texas range. I'm recommending this book to anyone and everyone I know -- a truly Great American Novel.
2) "The Fortunes of the Rougons" by Emile Zola. This is the first novel in Zola's classic 20-book series about the rise and fall of the Rougon-Macquart family, set against the backdrop of Bonapartism and Empire in late 19th century France. I'm about two-thirds of the way through Brian Nelson's excellent new translation and as an entree into mid-to-late 19th century French literature, this is a grand read. With the exception of the star-crossed (and yes, doomed) young lovers Silvere and Miette, this is another novel filled with characters who aren't naturally sympathetic--in fact, what they do to each other is downright rather despicable--but Zola is a master of social realism and revolution. European history buffs will enjoy reading about Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte's coup d'etat of 1851 through the lens of fictional characters caught up in the ebb and flow of history. Fans of "Les Miserables" will enjoy some of the parallels between this novel and Victor Hugo's epic classic (and appreciate, I don't doubt, Zola's relative brevity). Not traditional beach reading to be sure, but once you get into it, the story is unputdownable.
3) "Diaghilev: a Life" by Sjeng Scheijen. After having enjoyed the Diaghilev exhibition currently on display through the summer at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., I was curious to learn more about the great Russian theatrical impresario and his famous and influential Ballet Russes. Scheijen's recent biography presents Diaghilev's larger-than-life persona with a panache worthy of its star and its supporting cast is equally as fascinating -- Stravinsky, Nijinsky, and Coco Chanel are just a few of the cultural icons who figure into the story. For lovers of ballet, art, theatre, and 20th century Russian history, "Diaghilev: A Life" is a feast.
4) "Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls" by David Sedaris. For those of you looking for something on the lighter side, you surely can't go wrong with Mr. Sedaris's latest collection of essays. The title alone let's you know you're in for another treat. I haven't read it yet, but Sedaris is one of the few humor writers today who invariably makes me laugh out loud. A perfect salve to restore your faith in humanity and a celebration of all life's foibles.
5) "Defending Jacob" by William Landay. This is legal fiction at its finest. Landay elevates the somewhat tired genre by infusing his novel with a pathos and sensitivity not usually found in legal thrillers, while still keeping you impulsively turning the pages. I'm not going to give away any of the plot other than to say that the story is eerily topical, covering some of the same territory as Lionel Shriver's brilliant novel "We Need to Talk about Kevin", with an ending that for me ranks right up there with the devastating final paragraphs of Ian McEwan's "Atonement". Like Shriver's and McEwan's novels, this is another that will haunt you long after you've read (and reread) the final page.
Happy summer reading!
Showing posts with label Diaghilev. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Diaghilev. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Sunday, June 9, 2013
The Return: 5 Things I Am Obsessed About This Week
Hello everyone!
I'm back. I know I haven't posted since January which sucks for my blog following. But I am happy to say I have returned -- if in a slightly different format -- and will be sharing my thoughts with you twice a week on everything from culture and politics to trivia and world events. It's been a busy year...
So to kick things off: here are the 5 Things I Am Obsessed About This Week (in no particular order)--
1) David Hyde Pierce's epic monologue-rant halfway through the second act of Christopher Durang's new Tony-nominated play "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike". I had the pleasure of seeing Durang's latest on Broadway last weekend. And while I found the play uneven overall -- I thought it tried too hard to be funny -- Mr. Hyde Pierce's character's (Vanya's) breakdown over the lack of respect shown by the younger generation, social media, texting, Tweeting, and basically everything that's wrong with the world in 2013, was riveting, hilarious, and oh so prescient. It was a show-stopper in the true sense of the word and the audience -- myself included -- lapped up every minute of it. Does the play -- which is favored to win the Tony for Best Play tonight -- deserve all its acclaim? Probably not. But David Hyde Pierce and his co-star Kristine Nielsen deserve any and all awards they have been nominated for.
2) "Pippin". Diane Paulus's much Tony-nominated revival of the Stephen Schwartz/Bob Fosse musical is truly a feast for the eyes and ears. The acrobatic stunts are jaw-dropping and the cast (Andrea Martin and Patina Miller in particular) is a delight. The second act drags and I felt somewhat loses its direction, but the overall production is spot-on. And yes, Ms. Martin's rousing sing-along rendition of "No Time At All" is definitely worthy of a Tony Award tonight for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. It has been a long while since a Broadway musical transported me the way this production of "Pippin" did. If you're in New York, go see it.
3) "Capital" by John Lanchester. I just finished reading Lanchester's much-praised 2012 novel chronicling the lives of the fictional residents of London's Pepys Road who find themselves united by the 2008 financial collapse and the receipt of a strange series of postcards and blog postings proclaiming We Want What You Have. The storytelling is epic in its intimacy and very, very funny. It is also a somewhat provocative portrayal of our lives in the second decade of the 21st century. And while the ending works in its way, I did find the "Big Reveal" a little underwhelming. Still, this is a thoughtful and wonderful novel about a cross-section of the population of one of the world's greatest cities.
4) Diaghilev and the Ballet Russes exhibition at the National Gallery in Washington D.C. A fascinating overview, originally produced by London's Victoria and Albert Museum, of the life and creative genius of Serge Diaghilev, one of the great theatrical impresarios of the 20th century. Diaghilev's collaborations with the likes of Stravinsky, Nijinsky, Leon Bakst, and Picasso (among others) are legendary even a hundred years later. This comprehensive exhibition tells Diaghilev's story through a variety of media (costumes, set designs, video footage, etc) while successfully placing it within the historical context of its time. I'm in the midst of reading the beautifully-rendered exhibition catalog and am in the process of revisiting some of the revolutionary ballet scores produced under Diaghilev's reign at the helm of the Ballet Russes -- Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring," "Petruschka", and "The Firebird" among them. You don't have to love ballet to enjoy and appreciate this extraordinary exhibition. It just opened and runs through September.
5) Pigalle. I dined at this gem of a French bistro on 8th and 48th in New York for the second time last weekend before seeing "Pippin". My steak au poivre was everything a steak au poivre should be and the profiteroles transported me back to Paris where I'd just been a few weeks before. The atmosphere is buzzy but not overly loud. The service is prompt, polite, and unassuming. The dining room itself is bright and convincingly Gallic. All of this added up to a perfectly enjoyable pre-theatre meal without the pretension that I feel accompanies all too many of the so-called "great" restaurants today. I look forward to my next visit.
Ciao!
I'm back. I know I haven't posted since January which sucks for my blog following. But I am happy to say I have returned -- if in a slightly different format -- and will be sharing my thoughts with you twice a week on everything from culture and politics to trivia and world events. It's been a busy year...
So to kick things off: here are the 5 Things I Am Obsessed About This Week (in no particular order)--
1) David Hyde Pierce's epic monologue-rant halfway through the second act of Christopher Durang's new Tony-nominated play "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike". I had the pleasure of seeing Durang's latest on Broadway last weekend. And while I found the play uneven overall -- I thought it tried too hard to be funny -- Mr. Hyde Pierce's character's (Vanya's) breakdown over the lack of respect shown by the younger generation, social media, texting, Tweeting, and basically everything that's wrong with the world in 2013, was riveting, hilarious, and oh so prescient. It was a show-stopper in the true sense of the word and the audience -- myself included -- lapped up every minute of it. Does the play -- which is favored to win the Tony for Best Play tonight -- deserve all its acclaim? Probably not. But David Hyde Pierce and his co-star Kristine Nielsen deserve any and all awards they have been nominated for.
2) "Pippin". Diane Paulus's much Tony-nominated revival of the Stephen Schwartz/Bob Fosse musical is truly a feast for the eyes and ears. The acrobatic stunts are jaw-dropping and the cast (Andrea Martin and Patina Miller in particular) is a delight. The second act drags and I felt somewhat loses its direction, but the overall production is spot-on. And yes, Ms. Martin's rousing sing-along rendition of "No Time At All" is definitely worthy of a Tony Award tonight for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. It has been a long while since a Broadway musical transported me the way this production of "Pippin" did. If you're in New York, go see it.
3) "Capital" by John Lanchester. I just finished reading Lanchester's much-praised 2012 novel chronicling the lives of the fictional residents of London's Pepys Road who find themselves united by the 2008 financial collapse and the receipt of a strange series of postcards and blog postings proclaiming We Want What You Have. The storytelling is epic in its intimacy and very, very funny. It is also a somewhat provocative portrayal of our lives in the second decade of the 21st century. And while the ending works in its way, I did find the "Big Reveal" a little underwhelming. Still, this is a thoughtful and wonderful novel about a cross-section of the population of one of the world's greatest cities.
4) Diaghilev and the Ballet Russes exhibition at the National Gallery in Washington D.C. A fascinating overview, originally produced by London's Victoria and Albert Museum, of the life and creative genius of Serge Diaghilev, one of the great theatrical impresarios of the 20th century. Diaghilev's collaborations with the likes of Stravinsky, Nijinsky, Leon Bakst, and Picasso (among others) are legendary even a hundred years later. This comprehensive exhibition tells Diaghilev's story through a variety of media (costumes, set designs, video footage, etc) while successfully placing it within the historical context of its time. I'm in the midst of reading the beautifully-rendered exhibition catalog and am in the process of revisiting some of the revolutionary ballet scores produced under Diaghilev's reign at the helm of the Ballet Russes -- Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring," "Petruschka", and "The Firebird" among them. You don't have to love ballet to enjoy and appreciate this extraordinary exhibition. It just opened and runs through September.
5) Pigalle. I dined at this gem of a French bistro on 8th and 48th in New York for the second time last weekend before seeing "Pippin". My steak au poivre was everything a steak au poivre should be and the profiteroles transported me back to Paris where I'd just been a few weeks before. The atmosphere is buzzy but not overly loud. The service is prompt, polite, and unassuming. The dining room itself is bright and convincingly Gallic. All of this added up to a perfectly enjoyable pre-theatre meal without the pretension that I feel accompanies all too many of the so-called "great" restaurants today. I look forward to my next visit.
Ciao!
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