The Magician's Assistant

Belated again! Gone are the days of the Thursday morning recap, but you know what they say... Thank you to the Foxx for hosting TCOB. It's so fun to see the progress on your house--it looks better every time! We started off the night with margaritas (the cocktail is a menu addition I like very much!) and chickpea bruschetta with olive tapenade. Then, some very healthy chicken enchilladas (courtesy of the Foxx's mother-in-law's famous recipe) with a mixed vegetable salad, and strawberry and rhubarb cobbler with creme fraiche for dessert. Dalish, and requiring a major workout the next day!

The Magician's Assistant, by Ann Patchett, scored a 6.75 on the Richter scale. However, as is often the case, that number doesn't tell the whole story. There were mostly 8's and then two nay-sayers brought the average tumbling down. The general consensus among the 8's was that the book was totally enjoyable, the story was good, they liked the Fetters family, and it was cool that the book (or at least half of it) took place in L.A.--Beverly Hills, downtown, and West Hollywood no less! We were about split down the middle on whether people liked Sabine: half found her character annoying or frustrating in that she had no backbone and put everyone else's interests ahead of her own. The other half really found her to be sympathetic. We also discussed Sabine and Parsifal's relationship, and again, opinions were mixed. How could Sabine have spent her whole life pining away for someone who definitively was not going to reciprocate on a sexual or even an intimate basis? Her living with Phan and Parsifal seemed weird, like the third-wheel neighbor who bunks in. On the other hand, maybe it was just a "non-traditional" family--and who are we to judge? We talked about Sabine's parents, and how even though they were such an important influence in her life, perhaps they were enabling their daughter in continuing on a path that never would lead to fulfillment for her. There was a lot to talk about with this book, and I feel like we just scratched the surface--probably because we hadn't gotten together for more than 5 weeks which meant lots of gossip to catch up on. In particular, El Jefe was curious to know everyone's take on the final magic trick, which Sabine seemed to have learned in one of her dreams and which supposedly was "real" magic. How did this fantastical and mystical twist fit in with a book that, although fictional, otherwise stuck to a completely realistic and pragmatic view of magic tricks?

Reminder: Janna Conner Designs and Lila Boutique trunk show at Logan's Run's house on May 2!

Our next meeting will be Wednesday, May 3 at Ms. K's house. La Madamoiselle is bringing apps, and Logan's Run dessert. The book is Last Orders, by Graham Swift, the 1996 Booker Prize winner.

Devil in the White City

Beter late than never for a BC recap! Thanks to Red for hosting a fun evening--we are so glad to have you and La Mademoiselle back in town! It was clear that Red was back in full effect since the quotation mark fingers came out early in the evening. We started off with a cheese and charcuterie plate. Then, since there's no such thing as too much cheese, we segued into a mixed green salad with hot chevre for dinner's first course, followed by sauteed chicken and asian vegetables as the entree. Dessert was stewed mixed berries over vanilla ice cream with Vahlrona chocolate. But why stop at just one dessert? We then had a taste testing of assorted Belgian chocolates courtesy of Raf. How do you say "lish" in Flemish?

The White City had rating of 6.57, but that doesn't tell the whole picture. Everyone except Logan's Run loved this book and rated it in the 7 to 9 category, but Logan's Run's score brought the average down. Harsh! In general, people found The White City to be fascinating. The story of the Chicago world's fair and how it was built undoubtedly is a landmark of huge cultural and historical importance--yet most (not all) of us knew very little about it. One neat aspect to reading non-fiction is that it puts into context things you have learned before. For example, some of us had studied the architects who built the fair, so the names Burnham, Root, and Sullivan already were familiar. For the rest of us, it gave shredded wheat, belly dancing, and the Ferris wheel new meaning. But, as interesting as these tidbits are, our discussion really focused on the difference between life at the turn of the 19th century and now, just over 100 years later. In what ways are we better off now, and in what ways worse? Throughout our discussion, a little of both came out. Take pollution. The description of Chicago's persistent haze and blanket of soot from coal burning and construction, not to mention the omnipresent stench of slaughtered animals was pretty revolting. But then someone raised the point of how much more we pollute the environment today. On the other hand, the rampant killing (even H. H. Holmes aside), kidnapping, "disappearances" and general violence--most of which went unprosecuted--seemed worse than what we have today. I could go on and on, we talked about medicine, the war in Iraq, women's rights, moustaches and the Whitechapel Club. We didn't have a whole lot of time left to discuss the characters, although another hour probably was warranted to talk about Holmes himself and what lead him to become one of the most grisly serial killers in history. Not lish. I have to give some airtime to the alternative viewpiont. Logan's Run just didn't find the story to be gripping, but rather a bit too bogged down in the details for her taste. Partly that may be because of writing style, and we did poke fun at the author, Eric Larson, for some of the dramatic sentence structures he used to try to infuse a potentially dry historical account with interest...... "and that man was Frank Lloyd Wright!"



Our next BC is on Wednesday, April 5 at Ms. K's house. Please volunteer for dessert or apps. Also, at our next meeting we will discuss potentially moving BC to the second Wed of the month to have less conflicts with Red's and La Mademoiselle's trade shows, so please look at your calendars and think about it. This change is part of a larger effort to increase book club attendance that has been expressed by some of our members. One last administrative point: bring book suggestions! The LOD is so 2004. We want to resume picking two books at a time.



We will be reading the Magician's Assistant by Ann Patchett.

Freakonomics

Thanks to Logan's Run for hosting a fun and intimate TCOB last night!  Dalish as usual. Prosciutto-wrapped melon and fresh mozzarella, baked penne with a crisp arugula and parmesan salad, and a scrumptious apricot mousse Birthday Cake in honor of Ms. K.  Yum!  We missed our traveling compatriots:  Blondie (Sun Valley), Red (Paris--obv.) and La Madamoiselle (NY). Hurry home girls, we miss you!

On to the book. Freakonomics came in with a 6.5.  Despite a fairly respectable score, the commentary on this book was kind of lackluster.  It's not that people didn't like it, but rather that they didn't see much to discuss.  The overriding reaction was "neato, but not mind-blowing"--which is what the book jacket made it out to be.  There were mixed views of the author's methodology.  The Doctor, in particular, was not convinced that Levitt proved the theses he put forth because he didn't prove causality.  Ms. K and the Highlander, on the other hand, found his research convincing.  The most well-received chapter was the author's conclusion that legalized abortion accounted for nearly 50% of the crime drop between the 1980's and 2000.  A bold and controversial position that he handled with finesse and objectivity.  But, who wants finesse and objectivity when we can talk about scan-dal? (see below)  Did James Frey's drug addition cause him to forget he never served prison time, or was it just correlated?  A million little pieces of controversy. Tempting as it may be, we've decided not to suppot his literary career. Oh-o-woh-o-Oprah!

Our next meeting is Wednesday, March 1 at Red's house. (Red, please confirm this--we talked about it a long time ago). We need apps and dessert volunteers, please! The book is Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America, by Erik Larson. It's a long one, 447 pages, so just click on the link below, and read early and often.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime

Another late BC recap, but better late than never. We had a very lively meeting at Chez Jefe that kicked off with tuna tartare, followed by pumpkin-black bean soup and grilled cheese (the beginning of those hearty winter BC dinners!), and a low-calorie Oreo cream cake for dessert.  Lish!  After a thorough discussion of Red's new Belgian love interest, we reluctantly moved on to a discussion of the book....

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime was relatively well received, with a 6.75 rating. Could it be that our typical grade inflation is deflating?  That is a comparatively low average score for a book that everyone seemed to like.  But, we certainly are talking about "like" and not "love."  No one was passionate about this book.  We talked about the game show math puzzle a bit (the goats and cars behind closed doors) and once everyone was satisfied with the answer to that, there wasn't a whole lot else to say.  The strongest part of the book was the author's insight into autism, and his portrayal of how an autistic mind sees the world. Several people were surprised to find out that Christopher's character was 15 years old, since his narration suggested that he was more like 10 or 11.  We also talked briefly about the father;  in a recurring BC theme, we were split between being sympathetic towards and disgusted by this character who had dealt a deadly blow to an innocent dog with a garden fork, and yet clearly was dedicated to his handicapped son.  And.... that's about it.  The group was much more interested in discussing the holiday calendar. I believe there is a triple-threat trunk show (the Foxx, La Madamoiselle, Red) being hosted by Logan's Run on the 14th, so save the date.

As I mentioned, the discussion was very lively when it came to the LOD selection and the stressful challenge of picking a book for the December meeting. I've tallied the votes to date, and even though two people didn't weigh in (ahem) there are two clear leaders of the pack, so we'll go with those for December and January, respectively.

The December book will be The Sea by John Banville, this year's Booker prize winner. Yes, it's hardcover, but hey, writers need to make a living too.  January's book is Herzog, by Saul Bellow.

As for the date for Dec. BC, everyone I've heard from so far (missing two) is available all of the dates, but P___ likely will prefer to generously let us use her home on Monday the 5th. So, please pencil that date in and I will send a confirmation once I hear from the rest of the group. Remember that you are welcome to invite a guest but please make sure they read the book and make sure to let the Highlander know if you are bringing someone or not so she can get a headcount.
La Madamoiselle has volunteered for apps for the December BC.  Logan's Run, can I volunteer you and your Skor Bar cookies for dessert?!  Everyone else, wine, bubbly, you name it, but please designate a driver. Until then... read early and often! xo

The Confessions of Max Tivoli

Better late than never on this recap of last week's BC, co-hosted by El Jefe and the Foxx at Chez Jefe. Dinner was lish-- charcuterie and fromage to start (including some authentic Camembert Francaise imported by Red, which still is stinking up El Jefe's refrigerator!), followed by a tasty lasagna and salad with crusty bread, and two kinds of homemade cookies for dessert. Yummy. Who needs to talk about books when we can just eat?

But we did, and Confessions of Max Tivioli was pretty popular coming in with a healthy 8.75. Aside from a few comments that the book started slowly or some parts dragged a little, the group really liked CMT overall. It had a little of everything: humor, unique storyline, interesting characters, and tearjerker moments. Everyone especially appreciated that the plot of the novel was so unique: not only does the main character have the singular characteristic of aging backwards, but the twists and turns of the story were revealed little by little in an interesting way that kept the reader intrigued throughout. Although it was difficult to get a mental picture of Max at times, people thought he was a sympathetic character--but with some faults. For example, why couldn't he get over Alice, his boyhood infatuation, even when he was himself approaching old age? Was he emotionally caught in a childlike state just like his body? Also: why didn't he come clean with Alice about his medical condition? By lying to her, he was dooming the relationship from the outset. The group generally also liked Hughie, Max's best friend very much, and his sad death at the end of the novel made a few people cry. Why didn't Max want to stay with him and let Hughie care for him? After all, Max's regression to a childlike state was not much different from Hughie growing old; as Ms. K. said, we all become like children at the end of our lives. Alice on the other hand got a lukewarm reception. People didn't understand her motivations with men, why she left two husbands, and why Max was so attracted to her in the first place. Aside from the characters, it's also worth noting that people appreciated the author's extensive research in re-creating turn-of-the-century San Francisco from the clothing styles to the aftermath of the 1906 earthquake.

Our next meeting is back on schedule, Wednesday October 5, at the Foxx's house! The Doctor is bringing apps, Ms. K. dessert. We are reading Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life, which is the biography of Queen Noor of Jordan.

The Corrections

Now this is a sign that BC really is coming into its own: we're beginning to have those meetings that become "remember when" episodes in book club history. As in, "Remember when Logan's Run's refrigerator was broken for 4 days and she hosted BC anyways? And the Foxx brought dessert in a cooler?" Props to Logan's Run for totally dealing and in perfect style, as usual. Really, you didn't have to, but we're all glad you did! La Mademoiselle made hot brie with apricot jam encased in filo dough, then, a make-you-own burger feast with two side salads by master griller Logan's Run, and topped off by some sort of yogurty-bananay-molassesy-chocolatey concoction for dessert that El Jefe has no idea what you'd call it except dalish!

The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen made a strong showing of 8 points on the nose. Grade inflation? Perhaps. But El Jefe would say overall people really liked the book and were glad to have read it. Clearly a character-driven novel, our conversation focused on each of the Lambert family members in turn. There wasn't much consensus on either a favorite or most-hated character. Rather, certain characters bothered people either more or less but that seemed to be the author's intention; as despicable as they were, there was a sympathetic side to everyone. But what if these were our friends rather than fictional characters? Would we still find them sympathetic, or would we find them totally outrageous and out-of-touch, and tell them to just start dealing better? How far does normal family idiosyncrasy go before it crosses the line into serious character flaws? There was more agreement on the funny parts of the book: Chip's exploits in Lithuania, Alfred's hallucinations about malicious talking Turds, Chip's salmon down the pants, and Gary's ridiculous escapade with electric saw and grill tools. Good times for all.

Our next book is The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles. See the last BC installment for a description and link. Meeting will be at Blondie's house on Tuesday, Aug. 2 (note the usual change of date). Ms. K is bringing apps, Logan's Run dessert. Everyone else: LOTS OF WINE--can't wait!!!! Also, don't forget your LOD suggestions, since we may try to pick two in a row again. Until next time, read early and often!

P.S. This is my last day at work before maternity leave. Email me at my personal e-mail for the next 4 months!!!!

True To Da Game

So glad that everyone made the journey eastward last night to see the new Jefe digs! There were even enough chairs for all. We started off the evening with a very European vibe-- prosciutto, melon, and bocconcini skewers-- and then headed to Philly for some comfort food, BBQ spare ribs and mac n' cheese, topping off that light and dietetic meal with lemon chiffon pie-parfait. Seriously blue. Unfortunately, the book didn't live up to the cuisine. It got the lowest score in BC history: a ONE, the blow being delivered by Red (who incidentally, also gave BC's first 10 to Confederacy of Dunces. Plus, for another piece of BC folklore, the second lowest in our history was the Doctor's 2 on Day of the Locust/Miss Lonleyhearts). The overall rating on the book was a 3.6. Since there's not a whole lot in the book that people liked, let's run through some of the low points: the cheesy poems, Gena's money-grubbing attitude, the cliché' gangsta scenes from the late '80's, the fact that no character redeemed his or herself at the end of the book. We did have some discussion of the general literary value of the book. It has been described as a pioneer in the increasingly popular area of "ghetto lit," and apparently has something going for it since it's reached a wide enough audience to include 9 white girls from west (and east) L.A. That being said, no one had quite enough sympathy for the author--who has been in jail and probably is writing from first hand experience--as to overcome the crappy writing. Some positive notes were that it was entertaining enough in a trashy sort of way, and at least the author was able to put a storyline together.


With the democratic primaries in full swing, everyone was in the mood for a political book this time around. We'll be reading The 2% Solution: Fixing America's Problems in ways Liberals and Conservatives Can Love, by Matthew Miller. This was a totally impromptu suggestion without knowing any background on the book, and as it turns out it's hardcover. :( However, we're going to keep it since it's the right length and everyone was pretty enthusiastic...