Unbroken

Thanks to the Saint for hosting a delightful midsummer BC.  Wine, cheese and charcuterie alfresco (nice work, Doctor, for rescuing us on that one!), followed by chicken Marbella and roasted brussel sprouts, and--was it fruit cobbler?--topped with ice cream for dessert.  Lish!

Chicken, prunes, olives and capers... who would have thought?

Let's get right down to it, since Laura Hillenbrand's Unbroken was one of the top scorers for the year, and certainly up there in BC history overall.

This book was praised across the board, as evidenced by a whopping 8.9.  (Allow El Jefe a huge non sequiter right here:  on Wednesday can we please rate Michael Phelps?  As I'm typing, he's taken the lead in the 200M fly semifinals, OK, now he's won it.  Separate scores for face, body and personality.)  But yes, Unbroken was a big hit, not to mention timely given the lead-in to the Olympics.  Even those of us who normally don't like to read non-fiction found something good in this book.  Logan's Run commented that she felt a particular connection, having had family members in the military.  Ms. K. found the story to be an amazing testament to the human spirit.  And Red thought the author's description of Louie's 47 days stranded at sea on a raft was beautiful and compelling.  And the raft was just the beginning.  How many times in reading this book did you wonder how it was possible for one man to endure so much hardship?  If the author hadn't included 50 pages of research footnotes in 6-point font, the book would be completely impossible to believe.  (The Chinese men's gymnastics team is currently kicking ass on the pommel horse. Talk about hard to believe--is the human body really made to do that?!)

From narrowly escaping drowning in a plane crash, to having the single piece of chocolate on a life raft with three men stolen from under his nose, to somehow avoiding being shot to pieces by strafing from enemy aircraft, to drinking albatross blood, to fending off sharks with his bare hands, to... wait, sorry?  Oh right, all that happened before Louis got put in a Japanese POW camp and was terrorized within an inch of his life by a maniacal perverted sadist known as The Bird, and suffered what seemed to be about two straight years of diarrhea among other countless incidents of physical and mental torture. (Whoa! The Brits just won the silver in men's gymnastics.  El Jefe didn't even know they competed in that event!)

As if the plot needed more, it was all underpinned by the story of Louie's incredible athletic potential and the heartbreak of his being robbed of the opportunity to fulfil his life's dream--competing in the Olympics. (In a bizarre prallel, the judges just reconsidered the pommel horse score for Japan and gave them extra points--kind of like when the Doctor grade inflates!--demoting Great Britain to bronze and knocking Ukraine out of the running.)

Not only was Louie's own story amazing, but the author also opened our eyes to the conditions faced by thousands of World War II veterans once they returned home--alcoholism, PTSD (undiagnosed at the time), poverty, inability to connect with family and friends.  To be fair, there were some critiques of Unbroken as well.  One telling comment was that in spite of the amazing story material, a certain emotional component was lacking.  The reader didn't feel as if she herself was experiencing the saga with Louie, and in fact didn't shed a tear.  Actually, that was the only negative comment that El Jefe remembers. A great book and a great discussion. Nothing like some light summer reading.

Made in China?  So what?  Ador!

Ryan Lochte, now that's lishy.

But the American flag grillz?

Not lishy after all.

Missy Franklin, 100M backstroke

Guessing she's not competing in swimming.

Eternally lishy

Our next meeting is Wednesday (yes, that's tomorrow) at Ms. K's house.  El Jefe's on apps, the Foxx is on dessert.  Looking forward to talking about Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl, and, don't forget your List o' Death suggestions so we can pick some new books!  xoej

Her Fearful Symmetry

¡Hola amigas!  We spent a very enjoyable and intimate Cinco de Mayo at Casa de Jefe.  True to the day's festivities, we shook up some margs at the bar (El Señor bartending, natch) and dug into a gargantuan platter of chips and homemade guac.  Then, we feasted on three kinds of enchiladas, Ranchero, Suprema, and Carne, with all the usual accoutrements-- beans, rice, chopped cilantro (obv!), a variety of salsas, Mexican crema, and just to make us all feel better, a green salad.  It is nothing less than a testament to our will to stuff ourselves beyond reason that we still managed to polish off half of a chocoloate peanut butter cake.  ¡Muy delicioso!

I'd hit that.

Now on to our book, Her Fearful Symmetry, by Audrey Niffenegger, which scored an impressive 8.25.

This modern day ghost story set in London was unexpected, playful, and poignant--and everyone loved it.  Each character was different and interesting.  The twins, Julia and Valentina (a.k.a. "Mouse") start out as a lovable pair, relishing the sudden adventure of living together in their late aunt Elspeth's flat, and roaming the streets of London in search of Alexander McQueen (may he R.I.P.)-inspired fashions. 

Alexander McQueen, 1969-2010

Of course things go terribly awry, as is wont to happen when living adjacent to a Victorian cemetary in a haunted apartment.  But in between the book's jaunty beginning and the eerily tragic ending was a good ol' fashioned page turner.  We delighted in Martin's lovable craziness, Robert's nervous but sweet stalking, and the twins' frolics with the Little Kitten of Death and the ouija board that at first seemed to be so harmless.  Most (but not all) of us were surprised by the turn of plot in which Elspeth, rather than Edie, was revealed to be the twins' real mother.  Which only made it more dispicable that she [did that thing that I won't mention in case, dear readers, you haven't finished].  But was it a pre-meditated plan all along, or were her intentions pure?  This is one of several questions to which we'll never know the answer;  while the author tied some threads of the story up neatly at the end, other strange scenes from the book's final pages remain unexplained, such as Julia's encounter with "Valentina" in the store, and Robert's sudden disappearance.  A fitting ending for this supernatural tale.

Highgate Cemetery, North London, England.

Tombs at Highgate

Entrance to the Egyptian Avenue

"Managed neglect" has been the policy at Highgate for the last two decades.

One too many margaritas means that El Jefe does not remember who is hosting in June (yikes, June!), but it may have been the Doctor?  Let us know!  See last month's posting for the book, and until next time...xoej