Love Or Something Like It

Thanks to Logan's Run for hosting a lovely TCOB last week, and to Red for pinch hitting on the apps.  If a last minute fondue pot with apples, baguette slices, mushrooms and broccoli is what you call pulling together apps on the fly, we'll volunteer you every week!  Then, a wild mushroom lasagna with mixed green salad, and a smorgasbord of chocolately goodness--peanut butter cups, dipped pretzels, dipped almonds and more-- for dessert.

We definitely were not in love with Dierdre Shaw's Love or Something Like It.  And not even something like it, either.  More like a lukewarm friendship, coming in at 5.9. 

We were missing a few potential high scorers, in particular, the Highlander (who said the book was a hit with her), but as those votes weren't actually submitted we're stuck with a mediocre rating.  There's no doubt the story was fun and fast-paced, and the writing talented enough, but there's a certain sense of literary snobbery that seems to hold this group back from giving novels "on the lighter side" high praise.  That being said, some things things about this book hit home, including the descriptions of the protagonist, Lacey Brennan's disfunctional family.  As someone who still is not all that tuned into "The Business," El Jefe was somewhat amazed at the sneak peak inside the TV writers' room, and couldn't help but wonder how many hours a day her own writer friends spend discussing take-out food and breasts.  Surely it's an exaggeration, except that the Foxx actually corroborated much of the author's description and in fact thinks that she has identified the real life characters that these fictional characters were modeled after.  There was across the board disapproval of Lacey's ex-husband, Toby, the pot-smoking loser, and didn't anyone think it was completely annoying how they both called each other "Smooch?"  All in all, an enjoyable read, definitely recommendable, especially to others living in L.A., and definitely getting us all ready for a quality book on the next go round.  And speaking of....

The nice thing about being El Jefe is that, well, El Jefe does the recaps and so can take some poetic (not the right word) license in what to write about, and also when it comes to matters of grade inflation.  So let's circle back to the Great House for a brief moment, which El Jefe just finished yesterday.  Who knows why our group, other than La Mademoiselle, couldn't get through this book, and in the last recap La Mademoiselle's score of neuf was described as "high ball."  Well, El Jefe is going to top that with a major retroactive grade inflation of neuf ans et demi, and for those of us English speakers, that's 9 and a half.  El Jefe actually pronounced last night--and granted it was after a margarita, but only one (well, maybe one ans et demi)--that Nicole Krauss, the author of Great House, would ultimately come to be considered among the likes of Walker Percy and Gabriel Garcia Marquez.  Ok, well maybe it was one and half margaritas and a michelada, but still, it was a wonderful book.  Nicole Krauss is being featured on the USA network this upcoming Tuesday at 8PM, on a proram called Character Approved:  Honoring the Characters who are Changing American Culture.

The Magic Castle

El Jefe leaves you with these thoughts:  (1) BC field trip to the Magic Castle, anyone? (2) Logan's Run may never be allowed to host again if her husband overhead our dinner conversation, and (3) please make every effort to attend the next meeting and to bring a LOD suggestion.  We torched all titles in the LOD and are starting anew, and we have some important BC business to discuss at the next meeting that requires full participation.

The Foxx will be hosting on Wednesday, April 6.  The Doctor is bringing apps, and El Jefe dessert.  And the Doctor will host May's meeting.  We are reading Funny Boy, by Shyam Selvaduai. 

Until next time...xoej

The Great House

Great evening at Chez Jefe, um, week before last.  We started off with an epic cheese and charcuterie assortment, followed by chicken picatta, these lishy, creamy, golden rosemary polenta triangles, and roasted asparagus topped with reggiano parmigiano.  Then for dessert, a chocolate cream cake worth its weight in gold (literally) that could have served our book club for three months' worth of meetings.  Lish!

The enthusiasm for the book, Nicole Krauss' The Great House, was palpable.  El Jefe could tell because out of the 6 people in attendance 4 had bought the book and 0 finished it.  The rating was 7, boosted by La Mademoiselle's high ball score of 9. 

The biggest complaint was that the story had gotten off to a slow start, there were a lot of characters--all of whom were miserable wretches, and it was hard to see what one story had to do with the next.  Luckily, we had the Highlander with us, who actually had created a Venn diagram and family tree to show how the characters and stories were interconnected.  It had certainly gone over El Jefe's head that Daniel Varsky was the long lost son of the English professor, and that his daughter was the twin in the story at the boarding school.  Given the popularity of this book and the clear sophistication of the author, surely there is a master plan--as yet undiscovered on page 150--by which all of these stories come together in the end.  Despite its slowness, The Great House was filled with compelling characters, whose emotional failings were rendered by the author in heartbreaking tenderness and detail.  As El Jefe remarked, the author's intuition and understanding of the human condition seemed to be way beyond her years, as she could get inside the minds of a college student suffering from depression, an aging, estranged Israeli father, and a middle-aged divorced writer in Manhattan with equal credibility.  There will be a payoff at the end of this book for those with patience, so we can talk to those people and find out what it is.
Our next meeting is at Logan's Run's house, on Wednesday, March 2.  Ms. K. is bringing dessert and the Doctor apps.  And everyone else is bringing a completely read copy of Love or Something Like It, by Dierdre Shaw.  Happy Valentine's Day!

The Thieves of Manhattan

Thanks to Red for hosting our enjoyable and intimate evening last night.  El Jefe was on the verge of threatening to take Red out of the hosting circulation entirely after the hour-long trek out to the Dena (and Red would gladly have accepted!), but the threat was revoked once we started happily slurping down what was easily one of the best BC dinners of all time:  Franco-Vietnamese chicken curry, served not over a traditional bed of rice, but rather with thick slices of crusty baguette for dunking.  It was (literally) a winner, winner chicken dinner.  Created in 1979, it's no wonder this recipe has survived until today.  And for dessert, these incredible congo bars, which were all cookie-ish chocolately goodness.  Only a New Year's resolution kept El Jefe from packing them into a doggie bag to bring home.  And speaking of doggies...  Junior was looking terrific, sporting a snazzy Polo shirt, although clearly still in need of a collar upgrade. 

Pour le pooch avec tout.  Goyard, $500.

Maybe on next year's Christmas list.

This BC was perfect for El Jefe's failing mathematical prowess.  Let's see:  4 in attendance, 75% read the book, each gave it a 6, square that and then take the square root, carry the one....and it scored a 6!  The Thieves of Manhattan received a lukewarm welcome, to say the least. 

El Jefe should be peppering this recap with clever literary code words from the glossary, but alas, the book already has gone back to the library.  (But note that the curry dinner was not "lish" this time;  Red pointed out that in TTOM parlance that would have meant it was deleted.  Deleted out of the pot and into El Jefe's stomach, perhaps!)  The most frequent description of this book was "pretentious."  All three of us who read it were thoroughly annoyed by the author's use of literary references in lieu of words:  an overcoat was a "gogol" (in honor of Nikolai Gogol's The Overcoat);  a speeding train was a "highsmith";  and of course, the ubiquitous "franzens."

Jonathan Franzen, sporting his "franzens."

This convention could have been fun and witty if the references weren't so pervasive and obscure as to require flipping back to the glossary every two minutes.  The snarky jabs at the New York publishing industry also somehow missed their mark.  Instead of coming across as a hilarious spoof, the thinly-veiled (or unveiled) references to real-life agents, publishers, and authors were kind of obnoxious and made the author seem alternately jealous and condescending.  However, El Jefe did get quite a bit of enjoyment out of the Blade Markham character;  after all, why let James Frey off the hook now?  Another high point of the story was Anya.  Langer reduced her Romanian accent to writing perfectly.  "Oh, Ee-yen, I luff it when you mekk me dirty chinaski!"  Brilliant.  As for the plot, it was fast-moving and engaging, although ultimately a bit too complicated with several threads that didn't quite tie up, the most glaring one being:  did Jed and Faye really think that in 2010 they would be able to pass off a forgery of the Tale of Genji as the real deal?  Hmmm, thin-tip Pentel markers on recycled printing stock, versus 11th Century Japanese manuscript illustrated in watercolor on rice paper.  Really?  Well, we seem to have officially de-bunked the myth that books that get reviewed on NPR must be quality reading (case in point:  True to Da Game).  Looks like it's time to start getting our recommendations from Julia Lee again!

The Tale of Genji:  the first modern novel.

Our next meeting is on February 2 at Chez Jefe.  We will be reading Nicole Krauss's Great House.  Please volunteer if you can bring apps or dessert.  Until next time.... xoej

Zeitoun

Thank you, thank you, thank you to the Highlander for hosting our 8th annual Holiday BC!  What a gorgeous, elegant, and festive evening.  The house and the tables looked divine.  As someone remarked, "Wow, this is really a grown up's home!"  That's right:  who needs Mandy when we've got Moraga?  In El Jefe's humble opinion, it was our best holiday event yet.  Why not start every meeting sipping champagne, tucking into spinach artichoke dip (the low fat kind, right?), and munching on prosciutto-wrapped marinated artichoke hearts, all in--well, what could only be called a sitting room.  And sit we did, enjoying cocktails and company until the index cards got passed out.  Apparently, The 10th Member of TCOB decided it was high time to impose some rules and regulations aimed at ensuring a neutral and fair outcome on the vote.  Like a United Nations electoral observer, The 10th Member made sure that each person had a standard issue ballot, a private opportunity to mark their number, and that each ballot was deposited securely into... his hands.

   The presidential elections in Honduras were free and fair.  Just like TCOB.

The next step in the process was to have each vote announced, going around the room one and a half times to make sure that each person's vote was counted, either once or twice.  But El Jefe is confident of the results, which gave the book an average score of 8.5 and a 95% rate of completion (you know who you are!).  The secret ballot process caused the Doctor much consternation:  like a dangling chad, she typically likes to throw a little uncertainty into the mix by changing her vote depending on which way the wind is blowing.  Knowing that a last-minute switch-up would be impossible under the keen eye of The 10th Member, she and Diggity-D both went for broke with an unusual couples' vote of matching 10s.  There might have been some other 10s, but it was shortly after that point that El Jefe began to slide into a narcotics-induced fog, and the details get a bit hazy.

There is no question, however, that Dave Egger's Zeitoun garnered the most enthusiasm and genuine discussion of any holiday BC book to date.  El Jefe vaguely recalls more than one person saying that this book was life changing.  Like the Glass Castle, it was one of those stories that opens your eyes--and wide-- to the crazy shit that goes on right here at home, things you imagine happen only in third world countries.  There were so many sad and despicable scenes in this book:  elderly people trapped on rooftops, dogs shot to death on a highway overpass, a mentally retarded person hosed down with pepper spray in a makeshift jail, a FEMA trailer lying locked and useless in the yard for over a year.  The scenes from "Camp Greyhound" were some of the most painful to read, not to mention the utter trampling on the due process rights of American citizens.  It was terrifying and depressing to see how easily both legal and ethical standards went out the window, and with no apology or restitution.

"Prisoners" being led into Camp Greyhound.

Please help.

In the 9th Ward.

Not everyone in the group was entirely sympathetic to the main character, Abdulrahman Zeitoun.  Certainly there were some that partly blamed him for choosing to stay behind in the face of a mandatory evacuation (not to mention common sense), and having such an inflated opinion of himself as the saviour around his neighborhood.  Others remembered well the heightened sense of suspicion and paranoia that still lingered after 9/11, and almost took a "what do you expect?" attitude, given that FEMA had been placed under the umbrella of Homeland Security.  Still others critiqued either the author or Zeitoun himself for what seemed like obvious oversights:  for example, once Zeitoun got out of jail, how come he didn't help his friends?  What took Zeitoun's wife so long to call a lawyer?  But despite these differences of opinion, there is no doubt that this book was provocative and profound, and generated an empassioned discussion that followed us all the way to the dinner table.

It's always a relief to segue from dwelling over the misfortunes of others to a filet mignon roast with creamy gorgonzola sauce.  And rosemary-Parmesan mashed potatoes.  And a leafy green salad garnished with slivered red onion and mandarin oranges.  And cheesy garlic bread.  And paper party crowns.  Thank goodness for a delicious dinner and for our many blessings.  At this point, El Jefe did make her exit, longingly eyeing the annual bounty of Heath Bar cookies and the divine-smelling fruit cobbler.  Unfortunately, there were no leftovers the next day.

Please let this book be a reminder to all of us during the holidays how lucky we are to have friends, family, and a roof over our head, and to be generous to those in need.  Merry Christmas, and see you in the New Year!  xoEJ

Freedom

Ah, freedom!  Do any of us really know what it means?  Certainly El Jefe would like to be freed from writing these blog entries in the middle of the night, but alas, that doesn't appear to be in the cards.  We had a wonderfully bohemian evening at Chez Mademoiselle, in the heart of artsy Venice, where El Jefe truly feels at home.  Walking into a classic California bungalow, adorned with festive Christmas lights, breathing in the sweet aromas of Venice living---ahhhh!  And then to settle down after a long day with a glass of wine and to polish off the remainder of those prosciutto-wrapped bread sticks--was there goat cheese inside?  Who needs freedom when we've got lishy apps, vino, and good friends in abundance!  For dinner we had a delish beef stew and, uh oh, El Jefe can almost picture the dessert but cannot put her finger on exactly what it was.  The memory is failing, and worse yet, El Jefe fears that Red might have brought it and will now be offended at the second-in-a-row dessert dis!  (Don't take it personally, it's solely due to being overworked, or to inhaling the second-hand smoke of the Venice aroma--there was a second app, as well, that has been forgotten...)  But it was all delish!

Ahhh, Venice.

The book, Freedom, by Jonathan Franzen, was nothing short of a momentous let down.  It also was nothing short of 600 pages, which contributed mightily to the let-down-ness experienced by those who powered through cover-to-cover. 

576 pages.  Really?

We had high hopes for this book, given what a big hit Franzen's previous book, The Corrections, had been.  But at 4.7, this was one of the all-time low scoring books in TCOB history, led by La Mademoiselle herself, who gave it a scathing 3.  Complaints ranged from the characters not being credible, to the book overall being too self-conscious and cliche', to having too much filler.  Across the board, this did not live up to The Corrections--it simply was missing the poignancy of that earlier novel and failed to move the readers.  Obviously we are a bunch of cold-hearted, nature-hating industrialists, for who else could resent a book that spent 100 pages on the plight of the helpless, nearly-endangered cerulian warbler?

The cerulian warbler.

One thing was for sure, it was hard (if not impossible) to like any character in this book (except maybe the warbler).  Each one was as flawed as the next, and while readers often connect (or at least sympathize) with flawed characters, the author obviously miscalibrated--both Walter and Patty were just annoying.  In all fairness, there were a few positive points made, one of which was that Franzen is skilled at putting into words complex and conflicting emotional states that aren't easily given to being described in writing.  Or is that just El Jefe's reaction to Richard Katz that we're talking about?

Our next meeting is, sit down, our 8th annual holiday book club!  And this year Pam Pam is being freed from hosting, with the Highlander taking up the torch in her own home.  We are scheduled for Thursday, December 9th, at 7:30.  By now everyone undoubtedly knows what to bring, but nonetheless we'll circle back with assignments closer to the time.  The book is Dave Eggers' Zeitoun, which hopefully everyone (including and especially the boys!) has started already.  Until next time...  xoej

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Si, si, El Jefe es muy tarde.  But no less excited to welcome Baby Alec, the newest member of the younger BC generation!  And, he's turning out to be such a sweet and cooperative little munchkin that I am sure the Doctor will be right back into the swing of things by November, having had plenty of free time sit and finish our 500 page Jonathan Franzen novel.  But in the meantime, thanks to Ms. K for hosting a lovely and intimate TCOB.  To hear and be heard was a revelation, and it's what makes those occasional small group meetings so...pleasant!

We caught up on the month's gossip over a simple yet elegant new dip, created by Logan's run.  Creamy hummus topped with pesto and scooped up on crunchy corn tortilla chips.  It was a blend of cultures and tastes that was unusual and delicious.  Then, a platter of lishy chicken enchiladas from Thyme Cafe (Happy 1-Year Birthday Thyme, today!) and a green salad.  And for dessert, a light but flavorful medley of wild berries topped with fresh whipped cream.

Our book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, scored about a 7.  Everyone was fascinated by this book on so many levels:  from the science to the history to the personal tragedy, someone could not have dreamed up this story as fiction if they tried.  Having grown up in an era where cell research already was well established, we took the existence of cell cultures as a fact of life.  Not one of us would have had the occasion to ponder the miracle and the mystery of where these cells came from, nor did we understand the breadth of what they have accomplished.  So, from a purely scientific standpoint, this book was a real eye opener.  The social and medical history, too, was a new discovery for us, and a disappointing one.  Who wants to look squarely at a past where black people were intentionally injected with syphilis and subjected to questionable treatments in overcrowded mental asylums?  These painful realities set the stage for the myriad ethical issues raised by this book, which, unfortunately, the author did not leave as open as she could have.  After years of painstakingly researching this story and infiltrating the lives of the Lacks family, Ms. Skloot clearly (and understandably) was not writing this book from a position of objectivity.  Although she did accomplish laying out multiple viewpoints from which to consider the moral questions surrounding cell research, her own agenda came through:  she felt that the Lackses had been wronged and deserved some financial consideration in return for Henrietta's cells.  Whether or not any particular reader agreed with her, we did agree that her point was a bit heavy handed, and that although her research had taken a decade, we did not want to continue reading about this family for a decade.  Overall, a great read in terms of content, but some additional editing would be welcome.

Henrietta Lacks, late 1940s.

Henrietta and David Lacks, circa 1945.

Divide and Conquer.

Our November meeting is on our regularly scheduled first Wednesday of the month at Chez Mademoiselle...and we'll all need the address! For the book selection, see last month's posting.  The Highlander is on apps, and we need a volunteer for dessert.  Until next time, read early and often!  xoej

Cutting for Stone

Ah, the summer went fast but the book went slow.  It's hard to believe that yet another season has flown past, our eighth summer of good friends and good literature.  The Foxx hosted an evening par excellence.  We sheltered ourselves against the chilly Venice fog, ensconced in front of the fire, sipping red wine, and reclining on the Foxx's chic new couches.  Baked figs stuffed with Gorgonzola and wrapped in pancetta rounded out the cocktail hour.  After all, what's TCOB without pancetta in all its meaty splendor?  A dinner of scrumptious lasagna and salad followed, perfect for what almost felt like a cozy winter night, and then back to summer again with salted caramel ice cream for dessert.  A true labor of love, but a lishy one that's well worth every churn of the ice cream maker.

Before diving into the book just yet (procrastination), El Jefe needs to report on her fantastic long weekend spent with Blondie in Sun Valley.  We had a blast, eating, drinking, shopping, hiking, moose sighting, and Labor Day parading our way through the vacation (who needs to know that most of the time we also were herding four kiddos?!).  And strangely, like a blind person who exhibits a superhuman sense of smell, it seems that Blondie's geographic handicap actually has caused her other TCOB connections to become more acute.  What book do you think had newly arrived in the mail, in all its hardcover glory?  None other than The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, our October selection!  Yes, Blondie has actually started to develop TCOB telepathy, predicting the book selections before the recap even comes out.  El Jefe takes this as a sure sign that Blondie one day intends to return (to Los Angeles).

O.T.'s favorite Ketchum lunch spot, "Grump's."

And finally onto the book.  The biggest challenge faced by Cutting For Stone was its length.  Those of us (about half) who conquered its 700 plus pages gave it high marks, while those of us who didn't wondered how on earth it ever got voted on given the length.  Nonetheless, the overall rating was still quite high, averaging just over 7. 

If you could make it through the story's rather slow start, you were rewarded by a fantastic and mystical tale in which exotic characters moved throughout intertwined plots, all set against the lush, velvety backdrop of Ethiopia (and Brooklyn).  Though falling just short of Rushdie's mastery, this book is a strong contender in the tradition of great storytelling (let's call it Rushdie-lite).  The author's prose is so elegant that the descriptions of dinner make your mouth water, and the descriptions of local poverty, violence and ignorance make your heart break.  It's also a tribute to the author's excellent writing that the medical information (even if, as pointed out by the Doctor, a bit rudimentary) not only was interesting but also added a level of realism that made the reader more invested in the story.  Though difficult to read about, some of the topics addressed in the book--such as female circumcision and the occurrence of vaginal fistulas among poor African women--are of critical humanitarian importance and the author should be commended for addressing them in a bold and public way in a work of fiction.  Dare El Jefe draw an analogy to the salted caramel ice cream?  (Yes, El Jefe dares.)  Cutting for Stone requires time and dedication, but pays off in spades.

The October and November meetings are at the homes of Ms. K. and La Mademoiselle, respectively.  In October, Logan's Run is bringing apps and the Highlander dessert.  Read early and often, and in case you have not yet developed your sense of TCOB telepathy, the books (in order) are below. 

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot

Freedom, by Jonathan Franzen

And.... for December consideration in case the boys don't come through, The Thieves of Manhattan, by Adam Langer.  xoej