The Paris Wife

In June, the Club of Books boldly went where few women have gone before:  through the left-hand doorway off the entryway to the Spring Chateau.  Yes, mini grilled cheese sandwiches with fig jam and jalapenos in Near Earth, video art by My Barbarian on an eternal loop in Middle Earth, and Chinese chicken salad, spring rolls, and cupcakes and coffee in Far Earth.  Not to be seen again (by anyone, that is!) for the next two years.

 My Barbarian, The Golden Age, 2007, two-channel video

Paula McLain's The Paris Wife was well-received, garnering somewhere between 7 and 7.5.  The book was interesting, a fast and engaging read, and took the reader on a vintage adventure that roamed from the cafes of Paris, to the bullfighting ring of Pamplona, to private beaches in the South of France, to chalets in the snowy Austrian ranges.  It was with a mixture of envy, amazement, and disgust that most of us for the first time really learned something about Hemingway the man, who, well, seems to be about the same as Hemingway the myth.  No wonder that guys--BC's Tenth Member included--seem to have placed Hemingway on a pedestal:  ultra-masculine, athletic, charming, a literary genius, devilishly handsome, the talk of Paris, cavorting through Europe with the rich and famous.  Was this dude for real?   Unfortunately, in life as in mythology, someone who lives in such an outsized fashion is bound to be met by a tragic ending (and along the way, a wrecked home life, a gigantic ego, alcoholism and depression).  And what about the wife, number one of four--how could she ever stand up (whether in the book or in reality) to a character of Hemingway's magnitude?  Apparently she didn't, or at least not on their summer vacation where Pauline came along as if they were all one big happy family.  More like Barfalona than Cap d'Antibes if you ask El Jefe.  Overall, the book provided a fascinating window into a time and place that were unique in history:  heady, jazzy, exuberant and gluttonous, and we missed it by a good 50 years.  El Jefe also loved the chance to reminisce about her fave spots in the City of Lights . . .

Cafe Bonaparte, Rue Bonaparte, 6e arrondissement

Bar Hemingway, Ritz Hotel, Place Vendome, 1er arrondissement

Centre Pompidou, 4e arrondissement

Jamin Puech, Rue Madame, 6e arrondissement

Our next meeting is Wednesday, July 6.  As everyone surely remembers (right?!) we are reading Phillip Roth's Pulitzer Prize winner, American Pastoral, postponed from last month.  We also picked an August book:  Area 51:  An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base, by Annie Jacobson.  Meeting location and volunteers to be sent separately.  Until next time, you truly do need to read early and often.  American Pastoral is like 31 Flavors' French Vanilla:  "Costs a bit more, but worth it!"

Baskin-Robbins announced on July 15, 2010, that to make room for some new combinations, five flavors would have to go.  The oldest was French Vanilla:  launched in 1945, it was one of the first flavors offered by Irv Robbins and Burt Baskin.  

Sarah's Key

Now that was worth popping the bubbly!  Blondie in from Sun Vally and a full house.  Plus, we figured out all it takes is champagne to get Ms. K. to drink.  No mere wine for her any more....rich!  But you don't have to be if you just pick up a $10 sparkler from Trader Joe's.  Refreshing, tasty, and the best part of all is that its distinctive orange label could be mistaken for Veuve from a distance.

Cremant de Bourgogne.  $9.99 at Trader Joe's

We caught up on the month's gossip over spicy tuna rolls, toro on crispy rice, and a few other options on the other side of the table that were out of El Jefe's reach.  Why would she reach with champagne in one hand and sushi in the other?  No need.  We then continued on to a mixed green salad and a hearty tortilla soup topped with sour cream, shredded jack and cheddar cheese, and crispy tortilla strips.  ¡Muy caliente y lishy!  And in a sort of post-Valentine's Day homage, chocolate chip cookies baked in a copper heart-shaped pan polished off a fantastic dinner.

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay rated 8.13--plus 2.  Not to entirely shut out Ms. K's all-time-TCOB-low rating (being the hostess no less!), but rather to separately acknowledge it as an outlier among the rest of the generally high scores.  This was a Children in Peril book, Ms. K's least favorite genre (even lower ranking than "ghetto lit") and of course not easy for anyone to read.  According to the reports, there was not a dry eye among us (except perhaps the steely Blondie--or did her tears just freeze to solid ice in that snowy Sun Valley clime?).  Certainly El Jefe blubbered the whole way through, although admittedly that's not saying much coming from someone who gets equally choked up watching the GE Healthymagination commercials or the ads for the United Negro College Fund.

But aside from featuring Children in Peril, Ms. K thought the story was contrived, excessive, and written with the sole purpose of tugging at one's heartstrings from cover to cover.  The other main critique of this book was that its protagonist, Julia, went off on a self-indulgent lark when she started flying around the world to track down Sarah's only remaining family member--her son who knew nothing of the circumstances of Sarah's tragic childhood.  Some of us couldn't understand what possessed her to undertake this mission, which was bound to bring shock and hurt to Sarah's unsuspecting kin.  Others of us empathized with Julia's need to make an apology, to clear her conscience, and to see that Sarah's legacy was not forgotten.  Nor will the horrific events of the Vel'd'Hiv' be forgotten thanks to this book.  It was stunning that none of us, at least those educated in the United States, had ever been taught about the Vel' d'Hiv in our high school history classes, and barely about the Nazi occupation of France at all.  Even La Mademoiselle said that her knowledge of that time and some of the political figures involved was only partly learned in school, the rest picked up from the dinner table grumblings of her pere every time the controversial Francois Mitterand came on TV.  Kudos to this brave, French author for bringing to light a sad and shameful subject that many would rather leave in the darkness. 

Rafle du Vel' d'Hiv.  July 16-17, 1942, Paris.

Inside the Vel' d'Hiv.

Le Monument Commemoratif de la Rafle du Vel' d'Hiv.  Paris 15e.

Our next meeting, as of now, is on the regularly-scheduled day in April.  Blondie is going to try to host while she is in town.  If memory serves (and usually it doesn't), the Doctor is bringing apps and Red dessert.  The May meeting will be at Chez Jefe.  Our two books are below, and my favorite advice is above.  

P.S.  Can we give it up for Kathryn Bigelow?!  The first female to win the Best Director award in 82 years of Oscars!  And a Columbia grad to boot...

Thinking in Pictures, and Other Reports from My Life with Autism, by Temple Grandin.

Her Fearful Symmetry, by Audrey Niffenegger.