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.

When You Are Engulfed In Flames

It's amazing how quickly a glass of wine puts one at ease after the drive out to the 'Dena.  Thus, we settled onto Red's newly white sofas and savoured the past month's gossip and une assiette de fromages.  They say a respectable cheese platter should consist of three to five cheeses, assorted as to country of origin, texture, flavor (mild, strong), or milk type.  Complimentary sides such as a bowl of almonds, sliced salami, or mixed olives add variety and color to the presentation.  Naturally, one would expect La Mademoiselle to be well-versed in matters de fromage, and our offering was nothing short of decadent:  D'affinois (Rhone, cow), Montbriac (Pouligny-Saint-Pierre, cow), and Humboldt Fog (Humboldt, California, goat).

Montbriac, soft, creamy texture, with blue veining.

Humboldt Fog, luscious with a subtle tangy flavor.

Most of the opening sequence was devoted to a comparison of our favorite online luxury retailers and their shipping policies.  Yes, ladies, this is important business, particularly since it led to the discovery that the Club of Books is actually magic.  One evening we decry those who aim to profit from their bulk shipping discounts, and the very next morning Gilt Groupe offers free shipping for the day.  A coincidence you say?  Oh ye of little faith.

For dinner we feasted on roast tri-tip, pommes dauphinoise, and haricots verts in a balsamic shallot dressing.  Lish!  But wait, there's more.  Never one to settle for the merely conventional, Red substituted Comte in favor of traditional Gruyere.  It was a tasty trade that rendered the crust of the gratin even more delightfully gooey.  Red recommends the Oxo mandoline over Zyliss.

 Pommes Dauphinoise

Oxo Mandoline, $69.95 at Crate and Barrel.

For dessert was that relaible standby, brownies a' la mode.  Like a trusted friend, always there when needed.

When You Are Engulfed In Flames, by David Sedaris, scored a respectable 7.4.

The good thing about books comprised of short stories is that one can come away with a sense of satisfaction even without reading to the last page.  The drawback is that the book as a whole is at risk for lacking the cohesivenss that comes from having a classic beginning, middle, and end.  In this case, however, the common thread tying the whole work together is Sedaris himself, whose outlandish and neurotic approach to life is the centerpiece of his distinctive brand of humor.  That one individual can land himself in so many offbeat situations is an impressive feat.  But at the same time it leads to questions... How does this guy remember everything?  Has he been taking notes on his life since the fifth grade?  Are these vignettes all drawn from his own experience, or has he placed himself in other people's stories in order to fill up the book?  What if some of the tales are made up entirely?  But, reader, if you can suspend disbelief then you are guaranteed to guffaw in bed when Sedaris gets trapped in the back of a New York taxicab while the driver talks about f*#%y  f#@k, or tests out the Stadium Pal in an attempt to "accessorize."  Sedaris is a master of taking these mundane and yet somehow familiar personal foibles and finding among them unexpected connections that give the story a bigger meaning.  Larry David, Ira Glass, and Jeannette Walls (the Glass Castle), to name a few, probably owe one to Mr. Sedaris, big time.

Memory Lane:  Freakonomics, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner (Feb. 2006).

Our next meeting is at Ms. K's house on Wednesday, March 3.  The Foxx is bringing apps, and Logan's Run is in charge of dessert.  We are reading Sarah's Key, by Tatiana de Rosnay.  And we must, dear readers, give a What What! to my hometown N'awlins Saints.  Well done players!

Quarterback Drew Brees (9) holds the Vince Lombardi Trophy after the Saints' 31-17 win against the Indianapolis Colts at Super Bowl XLIV.

The Help

Thanks to the Doctor for hosting a really fun and chock full BC on Monday! El Jefe's always glad to rearrange the date so that everyone can come. It was great to have the whole group (minus our Sun Valley exile--we missed you, Blondie!) together to start off 2010--our 8th year of The Club of Books! While we caught up on each other's holiday gossip, we noshed on a bountiful platter of dips, spreads, olives, and possibly the most delicious rosemary crisps around. And speaking of delicious, if we ever got a cook book going, the Doctor's pulled pork orichiette would, in my humble opinion, be the starring recipe. It was a meat and pasta lovers' dream dinner. Oh right, and a hearty salad and homemade chocolate cheesecake topped with mixed berries for dessert. Thank goodness El Jefe's New Years resolution is not a diet, and apologies to anyone whose was.

And on to the book, The Help, by Kathryn Stockett. This book was extremely well-received, getting an average score of 8--which for our group, whose tastes in literature are all over the map, is fantastic. Despite its imposing length (made none the more comfortable by being in hardcover), almost all of us either finished the book or made very good progress, which made for a great discussion. We talked a lot about the book, mostly during the ratings, which took us all the way until dinner to complete. It must be a good sign when people have so much to say that they can't sum it up in a nutshell. One of the obvious points that impacted everyone's reading experience was the author's use of the southern black dialect (NOT Ebonics, as we learned!) which she phonetically spelled out during the chapters that the maids Aibeleen and Minny narrated. Law, it seem like it gone drive everyone a us crazy during them first few chapters. But then, once people became accustomed to reading the dialect, it quickly grew to be less obtrusive and became a unique and endearing feature of the story. We talked about whether it was controversial for a white author to use such dialect in her work (although El Jefe notes that white southern authors have been using black dialect for decades--this was hardly a new convention, perhaps just the most extreme example). We also talked about our various favorite parts in the plot and that this book, whether intentional or not, is just begging to be made into a movie. There were plenty of engaging characters and storylines that kept the pages turning, from Skeeter's prank of delivering 32 toilets to Hilly's lawn, to Celia Foote throwing up all over her cleavage-enhancing pink sequin evening gown, to Minnie baking up the Terrible Awful. And on top of all of this was the revealing look at what it might have been like to have been born into a different time, a different place, and a different color, and to have had to suffer the back-breaking work, humiliation, and often times violent discrimination that the "help" experienced in 1960's Mississippi. Truly this was a story that made us think about our past and our present, and made us feel sad, lucky, ashamed, and hopeful all at the same time.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Merci to La Madamoiselle for hosting a really fun BC last night.  It was great to have Logan's Run back with us but it sure is a revolving door these days--Ms. K will be out next, then the Highlander. Pretty soon, we'll need to take volunteers for apps, dessert, and next pregnancy!

We started out with the Contessa's ever-delish roasted eggplant dip with baguette slices, followed by that perennial IKEA special, Swedish meatballs! Kudos to La Madamoiselle for finding a way to keep in theme without serving us herring and mustard sandwiches with coffee.  Alas we didn't think to bring the Aquavit!  But really, those meatballs were delish, with Swedish cheese inside, served over egg noodles with a side salad.  And for dessert, mixed berry tarts. Quite an impressive feast, as usual.

Now, onto the book.  The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, nee, Men Who Hate Women, generated a surprising spread of ratings. Everyone thought this would be right up La Madamoiselle's alley (we're still waiting for something to impress her as much as the Da Vinci Code; maybe Dan Brown's new novel?  It's available at Costco!), but no, she gave it a lackluster rating as did several others. Only the Highlander's write-in "9" saved it from total mediocrity. On average, a little over a 7. Which isn't bad, and certainly the book spurred a lot of conversation.

Every person finished this 500+ page suspense murder mystery, and across the board we all agreed it was a page turner. But, we were split between those who knew it was Martin from the moment they saw the Vanger family tree, and those who didn't suspect the pudgy, friendly CEO for a moment until they entered his underground lair (don't you love the word "lair?!");  those who knew Harriet was alive and sending pressed flowers to her great uncle each year, and those who had to do a double-take (or double-read) upon discovering her on a sheep farm Down Under.  But, whether fooled by the mystery or not, there was not a single one of us who was prepared for the dark, Satanic, sadistic twist that the novel took in its last 100 pages. Our reactions ranged from not wanting to read about such disgusting acts, to thinking it was just so over the top that it ruined the book. In any event, we did agree that this author has some serious issues that needed to be worked out, and we wondered how they contributed (as they most certainly did) to his untimely demise. Finally, El Jefe would be remiss not to mention--especially following upon the ast meeting's titillating conversion about M.H.'s--how much air time we gave to B.P.'s. Did you guess it yet? They look like big mushrooms and they can be used as votive holders. Is El Jefe hearing things or did someone actually throw that out there....and over dinner!?

Our November book is Lie Down in Darkness, by William Styron. The November meeting is at the home of Logan's Run (we can't wait to meet little Logan!) on the first Wed. in Nov., the Doctor is bringing apps and the Foxx dessert. The December co-ed book club is at P_____'s house at Mandy (tentatively, Dec. 2), and the January meeting is at the Doctor's. The January book is The Help.  Until next time, read early and often! xoej

Strangers on a Train

Thanks to La Mademoiselle for hosting a very lively BC at her new home! Over the river and through the woods--the directions were a full paragraph shorter this time. And no cars were towed!  Better yet, no sooner had we started to sip our first glass of wine than we got a wonderful announcement from Logan's Run.  Ms. K, can you guess? We all did before Logan's Run even got the last word out of her mouth. That's right--BC offspring #11 is on the way!! We are all very very excited!

We started off with a dalish platter of assorted cheeses salami, grapes, and raisin toasts, followed by tomatoes stuffed with chicken and herbs over saffron rice, a luscious green salad, and profiteroles topped with Valrhona chocolate sauce. Tres Francaise, and tres lishy.

Moving right on to the book since it was so well received.... Strangers on a Train got an average rating of 8.3--easily ranking in the top 10 percent of all BC selections. Not only was the rating high, but there was a lot of discussion over this story of a psychopathic closeted homosexual, who meets a social-climbing architect on a train, murders his wife after she just miscarried another man's baby, and then is driven to madness ultimately killing the psychopath's father in return, until he finally is nabbed in a sting operation by a private detective while confessing his crime to the real father of his wife's illegitimate, miscarried baby. And yet somehow, this book did not come across as overly dramatic (in fact, La Mademoiselle thought it was somewhat dull and predictable). Our group was fascinated by all the characters. Bruno started out as repulsive (because of his zit, natch) and annoying, but then a few people found themselves understanding and perhaps even sympathizing with his psychoses, which clearly stemmed from confused sexual identity, a feeling of jealousy and worthlessness, and some weird unnatural attachment to his mother. And thinking about it now, the same comments came up in relation to Guy: he was alternately annoying and weak, and at the same time you could get an insight into where he was coming from and you really wanted him to succeed.  As the Doctor pointed out, it was almost as if Guy turned into Bruno over the course of the book.  Plus, the story was just a lot of fun to read with its deliciously retro throwbacks--the two martini lunch, the boat rides "upstate," the dressing jacket, the gumshoe private detective, the cougar country mom standing to gain from her husband's life insurance policy.  All in all, we had a lot to talk about analyzing the characters and reviewing the twists and turns of the gripping plot. (And talk about analysis, I'm not sure we spent quite enough time probing how Red's dad happened to "just turn up" an article on Patricia Highsmith from, ah, 6 months ago in a hard copy of the newspaper?!--int.)

Please note the dates for the next 2 BCs: Thursday, Apr. 9, and Monday, May 11 at the Doctor's and Foxx's houses, respectively. Logan's Run volunteered for apps and the Tiger is getting volunteered for dessert. Also, Jackie is on Jury Duty for the next week so PLEASE ORDER THE BOOKS YOURSELVES! There are links below people--click and ship! Until next time... xo

The Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell (Note: he is really hot and there's a video of him on Amazon)

Now that he's gotten us talking about the viral life of ideas and the power of gut reactions, Malcolm Gladwell poses a more provocative question in Outliers: why do some people succeed, living remarkably productive and impactful lives, while so many more never reach their potential? Challenging our cherished belief of the "self-made man," he makes the democratic assertion that superstars don't arise out of nowhere, propelled by genius and talent: "they are invariably the beneficiaries of hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies that allow them to learn and work hard and make sense of the world in ways others cannot." Examining the lives of outliers from Mozart to Bill Gates, he builds a convincing case for how successful people rise on a tide of advantages, "some deserved, some not, some earned, some just plain lucky."

http://www.amazon.com/Outliers-Story-Success-Malcolm-Gladwell/dp/0316017922/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236841236&sr=1-1

The Gardner Heist, Ulrich Boser

Shortly after midnight on March 18, 1990, two men broke into the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston and committed the largest art heist in history. They stole a dozen masterpieces, including one Vermeer, three Rembrandts, and five Degas. But after thousands of leads, hundreds of interviews, and a $5-million reward, not a single painting has been recovered. Worth a total of $500 million, the missing masterpieces have become the Holy Grail of the art world and one of the nation's most extraordinary unsolved mysteries.

http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?sts=t&tn=gardner+heist&x=42&y=12

Home

It was great to see everyone at BC last week--it was a lot of fun to have everyone together again! All of us, including O.T., enjoyed the dates stuffed with cheese and drizzled with honey. After which we feasted on rack of lamb, roasted brussel sprouts and truffled mashed potatoes (hello fall) and Coldstone Creamery ice cream cake. Everything was delish!

A great turnout, a great meal, and a book that generally was liked by everyone--this night was going pretty well so far. Recall that Home had been feilded by Red's muse, J. Lee (have we mentioned she's an English professor?). As would be expected, the recommendation was a good one and the book scored about a 7 on average. But also as would be expected, it was not easy reading and despite liking the story, several people just couldn't make it though. The author's prose was beautiful but complicated and difficult to read at times, with the result that you could get stuck on a sentence or paragraph and read and re-read it several times without being able to get past. El Jefe also can't seem to get past the mental roadblock of what we discussed in relation to the book. We said Jack needed to stop beating himself up over his past, he was married to a black woman who came back to try and find him, and we revealed what happened at the end of the book. But El Jefe honestly cannot recap a single other thing we said about the book. Clearly, despite the fact that El Jefe never had that cocktail she wanted, her mind was elsewhere. Hmmm, now why would that have been the case?

So, to circle back to the point about the night going well so far, the next day things got even better. That book club will always stand out as the last day of an old era, the day before Obama's election became a reality. El Jefe has a visual image of us all sitting around the dining room table discussing the election and the propositions. As sure as we were that he was going to win, it still was remarkable and momentous when it actually happened. So, we can add history-making election to the long list of things this Book Club has experienced together. A lot has changed since 2002!

Our 6th anniversary holiday book club is coming up on Wed., Dec. 3. The Highlander is hosting, and since she ducked out early it seems like she didn't need volunteers...? Just kidding, please send us designated tasks. Just don't assign the Doctor or Blondie salad. ;)

The January book is Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson.

Felicia's Journey

Thanks to Red for hosting a great BC on Wednesday.  Red, now that Blondie and I have moved Westward you are the last east side holdout and it's definitely time to migrate!  Nonetheless, it was worth making the journey to the Dena to get together over a cheese and charcuterie platter, followed by baked penne with roasted vegetables and "Cesaresque" salad, and brownies a la mode.  Delish!  

Not sure that we actually had a quorum to rate the book given that a few people didn't make it and a few people didn't read it.  But for what it's worth, the score came in just below a 5.  The reason for this mediocre rating is unclear, because as the discussion continued, the general consensus was that the author did an excellent job of springing unexpected plot twists upon the reader, and subtley unravelling the story of poor Mr. Hilditch in a novel and clever way.  The subtlety was especially apparent in that we didn't even all agree (at first) about whether or not the girls in Mr. Hilditch's "Memory Lane" had been killed or had merely run away like Felicia.  We went back to various passages in the book several times and explored the idea that Mr. Hilditch killed his victims because of latent guilt about his "very close" relationship with his mother and his paranoia that the girls had discoverd his secret.  While the erstwhile catering manager was a complex character that generated good discussion, Felicia herself was less well received.  People found her to be too simple and annoyingly gullible, and also thought it was implausible that she would be contented to wind up homeless, as she did at the end of the story.  In short, this book had a lot for us to talk about, and the low rating belied the fact that the group found many interesting nuances to the story.  And of course, political March madness continues--Hill and Obama both got plenty of airtime over dinner, and I'm sure we'll have lots more to say about them as the saga unfolds!

El Jefe is hosting the next book club on April 2 (regular date) and then Blondie is hosting on April 30 (one week earlier than regular date).  La Mademoiselle is bringing apps and Blondie dessert.  The next 2 books are...

Heat by Bill Buford

Bill Buford's funny and engaging book Heat offers readers a rare glimpse behind the scenes in Mario Batali's kitchen. Who better to review the book for Amazon.com, than Anthony Bourdain, the man who first introduced readers to the wide array of lusty and colorful characters in the restaurant business? We asked Anthony Bourdain to read Heat and give us his take. We loved it. So did he. 


Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Luis Zafon

Ruiz Zafón's novel, a bestseller in his native Spain, takes the satanic touches from Angel Heart and stirs them into a bookish intrigue à la Foucault's Pendulum. The time is the 1950s; the place, Barcelona. Daniel Sempere, the son of a widowed bookstore owner, is 10 when he discovers a novel, The Shadow of the Wind, by Julián Carax. The novel is rare, the author obscure, and rumors tell of a horribly disfigured man who has been burning every copy he can find of Carax's novels. The man calls himself Laín Coubert-the name of the devil in one of Carax's novels. As he grows up, Daniel's fascination with the mysterious Carax links him to a blind femme fatale with a "porcelain gaze," Clara Barceló; another fan, a leftist jack-of-all-trades, Fermín Romero de Torres; his best friend's sister, the delectable Beatriz Aguilar; and, as he begins investigating the life and death of Carax, a cast of characters with secrets to hide. 


See you in April!