Sometimes it’s Just Better Not to Know

The plague won’t leave the city until the killer of the former king is found. The current king, Oedipus, agrees that it’s about time someone looked into this—it's been about twenty years. A psychic is called in, and at first he refuses to say anything; then he says that it’s Oedipus himself who killed the previous king. But this is ridiculous! Okay, so the previous king was killed at the place where three roads met, and Oedipus does remember killing someone (road rage) at the place where three roads met, but it wasn’t the king! So why is the Queen so reluctant to carry the investigation further?

Especially if you don’t already know how this is going to end, you should read Oedipus the King (PA4414 .O7 B44 1978), written around 430 BC by the Greek playwright Sophocles. One hint: this is a tragedy—the day’s not going to turn out well for anyone. The translation by Stephen Berg and Diskin Clay is in clear, elegant English. It’s the traditions of Greek drama that are less familiar. There’s the Chorus, for example, 12 actors who through speech, music, and dance help interpret the actions of the play to the audience. The fact that all of the characters wear masks. That all of the roles are played by male actors. Reading Greek drama is like looking through a window to the ancient past—and finding that the people of ancient myth, while not exactly like the people we see everyday (and this is fortunate), are not completely different from us either.

'Siesta Lane' by Amy Minato

The premise of Siesta Lane is similar to other books that are significantly more well known – Henry David Thoreau’s Walden jumps to mind (I think this is intentional). Minato is originally from Chicago, but living in Eugene, Oregon when she decides that she wants to simplify. She goes in search of a home that fits her new philosophy – a small place where her life is less likely to negatively impact her environment. She finds Siesta Lane – a community of several small houses (about 150 square feet each) with no indoor plumbing and like-minded individuals who share her environmentalist perspective.

Siesta Lane is a book that is well-suited to read just a little at a time. Minato’s chapters are short, and like Thoreau’s sections in Walden, are written on specific topics. She throws in her poetry in places, which provides an interesting contrast to other similar books. Minato’s book is less instructional than other diaries of the simple life; hers is a more introspective book. After reading about her year of living simply, a life like Minato’s seems more accessible than ever.

'The Uncoupling' by Meg Wolitzer

The Uncoupling by Meg Wolitzer is a story about families in a small town that fall victim to a very strange spell – the women of the town completely lose their libidos. The story focuses on a couple, English teachers at the local high school, but includes many other couples as well. An energetic new drama teacher joins the faculty at the school and chooses Lysistrata for the school play, a work in which the women go on a sex strike to end a war. Gradually, all of the women of the town lose interest in their mates.

Although this book was enjoyable, I felt that it was terribly cliché that the women were the ones who stopped feeling sexual desire. In pop culture, why is it that men never seem to be the ones turning away from the prospect of sex? I get the feeling that this book just perpetuates the stereotype that men enjoy sex and women don’t. But like I said, the story was entertaining and enjoyable, and the social commentary isn’t necessarily a big part of the book.

'Sweet Valley Confidential: Ten Years Later'

I’ve been looking forward to this release for several months, so I was understandably eager to get a copy as soon as it was released. Sweet Valley Confidential: Ten Years Later begins with the Wakefield twins separated – Elizabeth in New York and Jessica back home in Sweet Valley. We find out that Elizabeth has been victim of some unforgivable betrayal, and Jessica is desperate to contact her. The betrayal? Jessica has stolen Elizabeth’s longtime boyfriend Todd Wilkins!

Francine Pascal and St. Martin’s Press released the first chapter online months prior to the release of the book, and I have to say, this betrayal of Jessica’s is probably the most obvious twist imaginable. Many of us fell in love with the Sweet Valley that included kidnappings, murder, evil twins and vampires, so this new book is relatively mild in comparison.

Even thou there are many new characters, Pascal features many characters from the original series and updates us on what other folks have been doing. Some fans of the original Sweet Valley High series may be disappointed that some of the old characters are peripheral characters rather than major players in the action, but I think that may be one of the more realistic things about the book. How many of us are still close friends with exactly the same group of people that we knew in high school? Things change, even in Sweet Valley.

'Monster in the Box' by Ruth Rendell

Ruth Rendell has been writing detective novels featuring Inspector Wexford for many years now. I’d be lying if I said I had read them all, but I have read several, and they are typically enjoyable books. Wexford is the Chief Inspector in Kingsmarkham and has a memorable retinue to accompany him on his many cases.

In this book, Rendell incorporates cases from Wexford’s distant past with present day events. We learn quite a bit about Wexford’s history: an early murder case, his past love, and how the two intersect. The story is that of Eric Targo, a mysterious man who Wexford believes to be a murderer. Even though he has not previously discussed his suspicions with others, Targo’s reappearance inspires Wexford to confide in his coworker Burden and revisit the events of the past.

Rendell’s fascination with the British immigrant population is interesting to me. Most of her recent books include a storyline that involves special problems of the African, Middle Eastern or Asian communities in England, specifically problems that deal with issues of women’s rights. Monster in the Box discusses the problem of arranged or forced marriages, and other topics have included female circumcision and abuse. Rendell usually looks at these issues in a feminist light, but it does seem sometimes that she focuses a bit too much on these topics. (Not that it isn’t enjoyable, it just seems like these problems are coming up unusually frequently).

On the whole, this book was interesting, but I thought it was slightly less compelling than some of the other Ruth Rendell books that I’ve read. I’m sure there are those who have read all of the Inspector Wexford novels in the correct order, and for those people, this book is certainly required reading.

'Zeitoun' by Dave Eggers

Zeitoun is the fascinating story of a Middle Eastern immigrant (named Zeitoun) who was wrongfully arrested during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. A small businessman married to an American woman, he is considered a model citizen by his friends and neighbors. Zeitoun decides to stay in New Orleans during and after the Hurricane to make sure his property is properly looked after. While visiting one of his buildings, Zeitoun and his companions are arrested and imprisoned.

Dave Eggers is known for his journalistic approach to non-fiction writing. The other Eggers books that I have read A Heartbreaking work of Staggering Genius and What is the What were both true stories. I felt that Zeitoun was less entertaining than these other two books because it was of a more journalistic style than his previous works. His other books made an impact because they were touching true stories, but Zeitoun is less moving, I thought. It was an excellent book about true events, but lacking the emotional involvement of his previous work.

'Life of Pi' by Yann Martel

It feels that many people will have already read the novel Life of Pi, so this review may not be terribly helpful to those people. But I have read this book recently and enjoyed it thoroughly, so there will be a review anyway. Life of Pi is the story of a teenage boy, Pi Patel, who is travelling with his family from Asia to North America when the ship sinks. The ship had also been transporting many of the family’s zoo animals, and four of these animals, a zebra, an orangutan, a hyena and a Bengal tiger, end up on a lifeboat with Pi. After a short time, Pi and the tiger are the only two remaining. Life of Pi is a survival story combined with the unusual element of fear, admiration and love of the Bengal tiger, Robert Parker.

Pi is a very religious boy and though the book is not heavy-handed in this respect, there is frequent evidence of his faith throughout. When looked at in these terms, Pi’s love and fear of Richard Parker elevates the tiger to a deity-like status. By staying by his side during his darkest time, the tiger saves Pi from desperation and certain death. If Martel had written a novel about a shipwreck survivor that saved himself through his own faith in god, this wouldn’t have been an unusual book at all; it is the transfer of religious love to a living being that makes the book uncommonly endearing.

All in all, a wonderful book with a bittersweet ending – C.S. Lewis would have been proud.

‘Are Men Necessary?’ By Maureen Dowd

It is a question that many women ask themselves at some point. In Maureen Dowd’s book, the answer is, I think, purposefully vague. This must be for obvious reasons; women keep asking themselves this same question because there is no easy answer.

Dowd tracks many changes that have been brought about by feminism from fashion to marriage to politics. Her style is conversational and very funny even when talking about subjects that are usually not treated as a laughing matter, like sexual harassment or adultery. People who are actually looking for an answer to the title question will probably be disappointed; I don’t know whether there is an answer. But those who come in search of an interesting overview of some of feminism’s triumphs and failures will be sure to enjoy.

I love men and I think they are wonderful for friendship and companionship, but do I need a man? It’s an interesting question, because my life would obviously have been very different without men. The author uses Hilary Clinton as an example; she is successful and has a career of her own, but would she have been able to accomplish this without her husband’s prior success and subsequent public betrayal? It seems likely that her success would have been on a smaller scale. A better question seems to be whether feminism can eventually bring women to a place where they can thrive politically without introductions and support from the men in their lives.

‘Wide Sargasso Sea’ by Jean Rhys

It is hard for me to imagine how Wide Sargasso Sea would be read by a person who isn’t familiar with Jane Eyre. (It’s actually just hard for me to imagine the lives of people who haven’t read Jane Eyre, but that’s another story.) For the most part, I think Wide Sargasso Sea is very accessible to all readers, which is refreshing and unusual for a spin-off book. The book tells the story of Mr. Rochester’s first wife, the crazy woman in the attic. Jane Eyre sympathizes with Mr. Rochester; Wide Sargasso Sea is unforgiving of his treatment of his wife. For the most part I think Wide Sargasso Sea is very accessible to all readers, which is refreshing and unusual for a spin-off book. However, despite the fact that Wide Sargasso Sea stands well on its own, it is even better when the reader is able to make comparisons.

The first thing that strikes me about Wide Sargasso Sea is that the girl, Antoinette Cosway, seems to be likened to Jane Eyre. They are both lonely and poor as children with very little care or attention from their parental figures. Both latch on to a kind maid for companionship. Later, both leave home to go to school where they greatly admire the women who work as teachers. This is drastically different than Mr. Rochester’s comparison of Jane and his first wife in Jane Eyre: “This young girl [Jane] who stands so grave and quiet at the mouth of hell, looking collectedly at the gambols of a demon [Antoinette]. I wanted her just as a change after that fierce ragout. Wood and Briggs, look at the difference! Compare these clear eyes with the red balls yonder- this face with that mask-this form with that bulk”. My impression after reading Jane Eyre is that the two women are very different; my impression after reading Wide Sargasso Sea is that they are very much alike.

The other thing that strikes me about the relationships between these books is the difference between the sexuality of the two women. Jane Eyre is the very essence of self-denial while Antoinette is not. Granted, there were 100 years between the two novels, but I think the contrast is significant. Are affectionate, sexual women to be feared and ostracized? Would Mr. Rochester have accepted Antoinette if she had been repulsed by sexuality? These are all interesting questions, and hopefully we’ll all be a little less sympathetic towards Rochester after reading Wide Sargasso Sea.

‘Born To Run’ By Christopher McDougall

I haven’t been running at all lately, and thanks to Christopher McDougall, I feel really bad about it now. Or at least angry with myself for getting out of the habit. Born to Run follows several American endurance runners and an isolated tribe of Mexican runners who have what seems to be superhuman stamina. We begin with McDougall’s first meeting with Caballo Blanco (The White Horse, an American living near the Tarahumara tribe in Mexico); the story climaxes with a run in the desert that includes many of the characters introduced along the way.

Though McDougall is telling a very personal story about friends and acquaintances, he includes lots of background information to help the reader to better understand endurance running. To understand Barefoot Ted’s philosophy, it helps to have a background on proper running form and podiatric medicine. To understand the Tarahumara diet it helps to know a bit about general nutrition. To understand how the human body is adapted to running, it helps to know a little about evolution. Although Born to Run covers many years and includes many individuals, McDougall is able to travel easily between times and places in a way that isn’t confusing or overwhelming.

I suspect that this book will appeal equally to those who enjoy running and those who want to be more involved in the sport (people who have no intention of being physically active will probably not like it). Aside from being entertained, I also picked up some great tips about nutrition (Chia seeds – who knew?), running form and footwear (I don’t need to spend a lot of money!). Of course, I’m not really going to know how successful all this running information is until I try it for myself.

'The Road' by Cormac McCarthy

Around the same time my sister was reading The Road I saw the book listed as on of the top 10 most depressing books ever written. So I expected that it would be good based on what my sister said and I knew it was going to make me really, really sad. The story is set in what appears to be a nuclear winter or some similarly bleak setting (we don’t know much about the history); clouds have completely blocked out the sun, ash covers everything and plants and animals seem to be extinct. In this gray, cold landscape, a man and his child travel together, trying to survive and care for one another. It is heartbreaking, but I also think that it is probably important to read and think about.

Despite the fact that the book is depressing and the world has become something alien to us, it isn’t really so difficult to relate to the things that happen in the story. Shouldn’t we all live to do what’s best for the people we love? The way I see it, the questions in the book are things that we should all be thinking about everyday:

• What are we going to do?


• Is that safe to eat?


• Are you one of the good guys?


• Are you carrying the fire?

‘Suite Française’ by Irene Némirovsky

It is impossible to write about Suite Française without mentioning Némirovsky’s background. Némirovsky was working on Suite Française during World War II; the war’s effect on the people of France is the subject of the book. Unfortunately, the book was never finished. Némirovsky was a Jew and was sent to Auschwitz where she later died. Suite Française is a wonderful fictional account of France during the war, and readers will regret never knowing the planned ending.

The book follows the lives of several families and individuals during the invasion of France by the German army and the subsequent occupation. Gradually, we see that the lives of these seemingly dissimilar people are connected in unexpected ways. I suspect that many of these personal connections would have become more pronounced as the story continues to progress.

Something that I enjoy: the author character in this book is a really unpleasant man. I get sick of authors who only want to portray authors as being nice, intelligent people. Némirovsky does an excellent job of illustrating what the stress and deprivation of war can do to people.

Beautifully written and tragic by itself and in context. I’ve read Suite Française before and I certainly do not regret revisiting it.

Our Franklin campus owns a copy – Check it out!

'The Water's Lovely' by Ruth Rendell

I really enjoy Ruth Rendell. She always manages to surprise me, which ought to be one of the primary goals of any good suspense writer. Unfortunately it also seems to be a relatively rare gift among those who write suspense books.

The Water’s Lovely tells the story of two sisters and the mystery of their stepfather’s death in the upstairs bathtub when they were children. Though it sounds fairly straightforward, Rendell has several other equally well-developed characters; one sister’s love interest, their lonely aunt, a manipulative fortune hunter, etc. In typical Rendell style, all of the lives intersect wonderfully and the reader is eager to find out what will happen to the characters.

Another thing that I thoroughly enjoy about Rendell stories is the fact that she often focuses on topics that are important to women. This book offers several examples of relationship abuse and violence. Though I know very little about her personal life, I get the feeling that the author has pretty strong political feelings and she is doing a very good job of expressing them subtly in her work. But then again, I may just be projecting my own opinions.

Overall, this was another great book by Ruth Rendell, but I would have expected nothing less.

Mrs. Ted Bliss -- Blissful Enough Yet?

Stanley Elkin's Mrs. Ted Bliss (PS3555 .L47 M76 1995) is the story of a Russian Jewish widow who lives in a deteriorating condo in Miami Beach. The novel takes her from about age 67 to 82. Over time, Mrs. Bliss never stops grieving for her dead husband and son. When asked by a therapist to describe her interests, she can only think of card games and TV. Later, even these interests elude her. Her surviving children live far away, and her old friends keep dying. What keeps Mrs. Ted Bliss from being the most depressing book ever written? Partly just the existence of so many other depressing books, but there's more than that. No clues, however, can be found in the book-jacket description, which makes Mrs. Bliss seem to have just stepped out of Harold and Maude:

But Mrs. Ted is stepping out. She receives the attentions of Alcibiades Chitral from Venezuela, as well as Tommy "Overeasy" Auveristas, and Manny from the building. Why are they all so interested in Ted's Buick LeSabre?

They're interested in the LeSabre because Mrs. Bliss sold it to a criminal who's been sent to prison for 100 years. Elkin has created a prison so captivatingly implausible that we're forced to keep a bit of ironic distance from the characters and their plights. I haven't been to prison, but I'm pretty sure that in real life prisoners don't get to take flying lessons--and certainly not from their unlicensed fellow inmates.

Similarly, Mrs. Bliss's therapist is a follower of a school of therapy, Recreational Therapeusis, that exists only in Elkin's imagination. The movement's modest goal is for the "therapeusisist" to help the the client find life-enriching hobbies. Yet Elkin has created a world where Recreational Therapeusis is wildly controversial, "a sham, fodder for old call-in shows."

Mrs. Bliss lives in a semi-alternative universe, which makes her a semi-imaginary character, which keeps us from becoming overwhelmed by her despair. But Mrs. Bliss's kind of wisdom also makes her deserve respect: at the end of the book, she's comforting a minor character, someone she doesn't really like and considers crazy. She's thinking, "Family, friends, love fall away. Even madness stilled at last. Until all that's left is obligation." A kind of wisdom. I leave the book feeling sad, but certainly respectful of the character and her bravery in the face of difficult memories and responsibilities. Mostly, though, I just enjoy the semi-mad world of Stanley Elkin's last book.

‘The Privileges’ by Jonathan Dee

The Privileges is the story of one family that enjoys spectacular financial success. The book begins with the marriage of a very young and attractive couple shortly after college and follows them for approximately the next 25 years as they have a family and become gradually wealthier. There are many moments that made me feel as though I were standing on the edge of a cliff – how successful can people be without suffering some great disappointment? This may be the trick that kept me reading; a constant, paranoid feeling that things always go wrong. But maybe I’ve just read too many books.

I always expect books about money and wealth to end by reaffirming what all middle-class people are taught to believe – that money isn’t everything, money will be your undoing, love and friendship is far greater. Though the characters in this novel do place a good deal of importance on family, this isn’t the message that I took away from this book. Instead, when I finished this novel, I was left with the feeling that wealth should be comforting and endless. You’ll still get older, and you’ll still lose loved ones, but if you have enough money, you won’t have to suffer in the same ways that other people do. Having enough money means being attractive, being comfortable, and enjoying the ability to make people do whatever you want.

The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil by George Saunders

The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil was recommended by a former advisor, and since I had heard it mentioned before, I decided to pick it up. I didn’t really investigate the book much before reading it. The book jacket made a comparison to Animal Farm, so I knew that it was either a) about talking animals or b) a political satire. As disappointed as I was about the lack of farm animals, I still think this was a great book.

Though there are no animals in this book, the characters aren’t quite human either. The somewhat surreal characters are involved in a border dispute; the citizens of Inner-Horner must take turns occupying their country (large enough for only one person at a time), the citizens of Outer-Horner are constantly on alert for “invasions” of their country by the crowded Inner-Horner citizens. The border guards, rivalries, and government appointments, are all perfectly done. Saunders is hilariously funny and just a little bit tragic; this book is a fast read that promises enjoyment.

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

This book was surprising to me; I didn’t know what to expect and had heard very little about it. Apparently, I am in the minority, as it has been a selection for Oprah’s Book Club in the past and won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

Middlesex is the story of three generations of a Greek-American family living in Detroit as told by Calliope or Cal. Calliope, later Cal is of the youngest generation in the story, raised as a girl, but becoming masculine as an adolescent. Cal is the product of frequent genetic mutations of a close-knit Greek community that hails from a very small town. In 2010, it is no surprise to us that inbred communities tend to have abnormal genetic traits, but of course, Cal’s ancestors had no way of knowing that this would be the case.

As I read this story, I’m tormented not by how unusual and painful Calliope’s puberty is, but how normal and painful it is. How different am I really from Cal? The feeling of alienness in one’s own body, the shame of being imperfect and different from other girls- I don’t think any of this is so unique. Perhaps that is the point; interesex individuals and hermaphrodites aren’t really so different from those of us who only exhibit characteristics of one sex.

The book feels like a cross between Forrest Gump and Lolita, the single male narrator that covers several decades in history while trying to explain a sexual situation that is foreign to most. The book is a startling contrast of the tragic and the comic, and Eugenides himself points out, but that seems to be the case with most things.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

I feel like I must have been the last person to read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; I heard good things about it from both my parents and my advisor on my Master’s thesis. So writing about it feels very unoriginal. Yet here I sit, writing about it.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a wonderful suspense story about an unlikely pair investigating an old missing person case. A middle aged journalist who was recently convicted of libel partners with an unpredictable, punk private investigator. The two are trying to find an explanation for the disappearance of a teenage girl from a seemingly isolated island in the 1960’s.

Of course, the key for any suspense writer is to arrange circumstances and characters so that the solution to the mystery isn’t obvious. Larsson has created a cast of characters diverse enough to keep us guessing without making it confusing. (Though, as this book was originally written in Swedish, there are far more surnames beginning with “Bj” than the average American is used to).

One of my favorite things about this book is the fact that although the translation is excellent, there are still occasional spots where the wording seems a bit strange. Perhaps this is because I enjoy the foreignness of it. There are points that seem like a dubbed movie - you can tell that it isn’t really what the characters are saying, but it doesn’t matter. Whether you find these slightly awkward phrases charming or not probably won’t make much difference in the end; it’s a clever book that most will enjoy.

Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond

Why have humans in different parts of the world been so consistently dominant over the people in other parts of the world? How do some societies manage to produce so many trade goods and services while others simply work to sustain themselves? These are just a few of the questions that Jared Diamond attempts to answer in Guns, Germs and Steel.

As the reader may guess, Diamond states that economically and politically dominant countries have prospered because they possess guns, germs and steel. This may be obvious, but it is not this conclusion that takes up the bulk of the book. Rather, Diamond tries to explain how European and Asian cultures have been especially prosperous without resorting to racist or ethnocentric assumptions. Some of his most interesting points are the following:

The geographic layout of Europe and Asia are more conducive to the spread of
cultures and technologies than other continents.
The fact that humans
first evolved in Africa and migrated north through Europe and Asia before reaching other continents helped to preserve more large animal species for later domestication.
These things don’t necessarily mean that Europeans and Asians are more intelligent or innovative than other societies, but that their situations have been better suited toward some types of developments.

I really enjoyed this book; I am not an anthropologist or archeologist, but I found the topic very entertaining. Diamond writes in a way to explain these complex evolutionary topics to people who are not well acquainted with the field (though I think a little bit of knowledge of human evolution is helpful). Diamond's writing and conclusion were enjoyable; I felt that I took away a good deal from reading this book. And the topic was an admirable one, reminding us that people of different cultures aren’t as dissimilar as we sometimes seem.

Create Great Puzzles

For the past few months, I’ve been including word search puzzles in the student newspaper, The Southwestern Eagle. Just one of the many reasons that I have for doing this is the fact that they are so easy to make! The site www.puzzle-maker.com/ makes it easy for me to supply a list of words and generate a puzzle that includes them all.

Now, as far as using word search puzzles for actual school assignments, I don’t really see the point. But the site also creates crossword puzzles that could be lots of fun. For example, instructors may want to compile lists of review questions (which most probably do already) then have this program make a crossword puzzle. Each clue could be a review question and the answers would be the puzzle solutions. This is just one idea that I happened to think of, I'm sure there are many other ways that teachers could very easily incorporate this into their curriculum.

This may not do anything to actually improve the work, but it may help make it more fun!