Me Talk Pretty One Day - A Review

Me Talk Pretty One Day - David Sedaris

Funny stuff. Sedaris has a writing style that keeps things from getting boring. Topics covered include: his father, his sisters, his brother, living in Raleigh and New York city, taking guitar lessons from a midget, various pets (mostly dogs), jobs as a writing teacher and a mover, drugs, art, learning to speak French, and his relationship with his boyfriend.

Occasionally, he would make contradictory statements. Like he'd make a broad generalization, then talk about something that doesn't fit the generalization, as though he never made the generalization. I also think he wrote a bit too much about learning French. The 27 chapters are separated into two sections, and I found the first section to be better: funnier, more interesting.

His living room contained nothing but an enormous nest made of human hair.

That was the scary part, that someone understood me.

Use the word "y'all", and before you knew it, you'd find yourself in a haystack, French-kissing an underage goat.

It was my understanding that communists preferred beefy, corn-fed girls with thick ankles and strong backs, all the better for threshing wheat and lugging heavy sacks of rice.

A transfer student, by the end of her first day she'd raised her hand so many times that her shoulder had given out. Now she just leaned back and shouted out the answers, her bronzed arms folded across her chest like some great grammar genie.

Follow seven beers with a couple of scotches and a thimble of good marijuana, and it's funny how sleep just sort of comes on its own.

In imagining myself as modest, mysterious, and fiercely intelligent, I'm forced to realize that, in real life, I have none of these qualities.

Rating: 4 stars of 5. 

(originally posted in May 2016, on Goodreads)  

Sylvia Plath: Poems - A Review

 

Sylvia Plath: Poems

Poems selected by Ted Hughes, who was Plath's husband but also was England's Poet Laureate from 1984 to his death in 1998. It is the norm in this series for the selecting poet to provide an intro, which he did not. I wonder if this is coincidental or if it has something to do with how he was treated after her suicide. I also wonder if his relationship with Plath affected his choices. Finally, and this is my fault, because I knew it but didn't think of it when making my purchase: Hughes liked to write nature poetry. So when reading this collection, with plentiful references to trees, flowers, moon, and ocean, etc. - I wonder if it's indicative of Plath's writing or Hughes's topical preference.

Anyway, all that aside, these are the pieces that stood out to me:

"Suicide off Egg Rock"
"Insomniac"
"Birthday Present"


This is the city of spare parts. - "The Stones"

Vague as fog and looked for like mail. - "You're"

I have suffered the atrocity of sunsets. - "Elm"

Rating: 3 1/2 of 5 stars. 

(originally published in February 2015, on Goodreads.)

Paris France - A Review

Paris France - Gertrude Stein

It's a decent read; nothing special.

She talks about growing up in San Francisco, and about fashion, war, civilization, food, logic, art, family, money, and how those topics pertain to France pre-World War II. I say 'talks', and there is a chatty vibe to her writing. I mean that in a good way. There are also a lot of generalizations, trivialities, and silliness. For a book that's titled, Paris France, a lot of the focus is on country life.

Foreigners should be foreigners and it is nice that foreigners are foreigners and that they inevitably are in Paris and in France.

In light of recent events, her words are tragically naïve. Immigration without assimilation gets innocent people killed. (See how I generalized?)

From Bismarck to Hitler, any one can see that since 1870 and to 1939 Germany has had no art.

So we're just supposed to ignore Kirchner and Die Brucke? (rolling my eyes)

Anyway, in spite of my criticisms, she does have some interesting observations. It's barely over a hundred pages, so it's not a chore to read. Just not the classic I was expecting it to be. 

(originally posted in January 2015, on Goodreads)  

Junky: A Review

Junky - William S. Burroughs

A loosely autobiographical novel - pre-Naked Lunch, pre- cut-up technique. Scoring and tripping in NYC, New Orleans, and Mexico City. Detours in a Lexington hospital and the Rio Grande Valley.

As Rechy did with City of Night, Burroughs introduces us to a world most of us will never experience. He is both tour guide and historian. But he only shows us what he wants us to see, he only teaches us what he wants us to learn. His wife all but disappears from the narrative. His narrow focus gives the impression that his life was more one-dimensional than it was. Obviously, he wanted to focus on the drug scene, but still...

Something that stood out to me was his gun collection. He mentions several different ones. For somebody who was often under the influence of alcohol and other various drugs, this doesn't seem like a good situation. He describes an incident in which he threatens people (including a police officer) with a gun while very drunk. (He killed his wife by shooting her while drunk.)

His face wasn't blank or expressionless. It simply wasn't there.

Ike brought me cocaine when he could score for it. C is hard to find in Mexico.
- He's referring to Mexico in the early 1950's.

I found that their interests were very limited.
- He's referring to younger junkies. As I mentioned earlier, however, he chose to drastically limit the scope of his story, so there's a 'pot-kettle' vibe here. He spends the whole novel on drugs and drug-related topics, but those other people have limited interests.

Maybe I will find in yage what I was looking for in junk and weed and coke. Yage may be the final fix.
- That is how Junky closes. He spent several months wandering South America in search of yage, which was rumored to give the user telepathic abilities.

The version I read (Grove Press, 2003), includes a 29-page Introduction by Oliver Harris, as well as seven Appendices. These include a chapter that didn't make it into the finished novel, a letter from Burroughs to a publisher, and two pieces each by Carl Solomon (the original publisher) and Allen Ginsberg, who essentially served as an amateur literary agent.

Rating: Soft 4 out of 5 stars.

A to Z Challenge: Reflections

My Favorite Posts:  C, P, W, and Y.  Only W is my own material, which is a bit concerning.

My Worst Posts:  E, F, L, N, and X.  Too much navel gazing.  Attempts at minimalist poetry that didn't quite work.  My humor amuses me more than others.

A to Z Blogs to Visit:

http://edb214.blogspot.com/p/blogging-to-z.html

http://createdbybb.blogspot.com/

https://thatswhatanxiousmomsaid.com/

http://suddenlykateshow.blogspot.com/

http://andthenshedisappeared.blogspot.com/

What I liked:  The combination of structure and looseness: I've done A to Z type stuff before, but it's been more narrowly focused.  I found some blogs to follow.  About three weeks in, I learned how to pre-schedule posts.

What I Didn't Like:  Various issues related to commenting on other people's blogs.  People feeling socially obligated to comment on my blog.  My own mediocrity.  Feeling like I had to censor myself a few times.

Random Notes:  My attempts at humor fell a bit flat.  My writing didn't seem to go over very well.  Most of my attention seemed like it was due to people feeling socially obligated.     

If I'm still blogging in 2017, I will probably do it again. Maybe with a theme.

Beverage Day

I have known many beverages over the years.  Here are a few:

In my youth, I could get milk for free, from my parents' fridge.  Calcium, vitamins, etc.  The key word is free.

In my teen-age years, I discovered this beauty.  The sizes and containers may vary, but the soda remains the same.

Beer: The sports bar beverage.

Kahlua: My holiday beverage.  Gracias, Mexico.

Iced coffee - no lid.  The plant is just photo bombing. 



 

Thursday Thoughts