WSBG reviews The Orientalist, by Tom Reiss

March, 2008:  World’s Smallest Book Group reads The Orientalist:  Solving the Mystery of a Strange and Dangerous Life by Tom Reiss.  What a fascinating book about a rather weird guy!  The blurb on the back cover describes it as “the true story of a Jew who transformed himself into a Muslim prince in Nazi Germany.”  No wonder we were drawn to read it!!

We found we were a bit misled by the subtitle, however.  We thought it would be about solving the mystery of who really was the author of Ali and Nino, apparently a definitive novel of  the Caucasus region and culture on the eve of the Russian Revolution.  That mystery was settled in the preface, however.  The mystery that remained was getting to the bottom of the life of Lev Nussbaum aka Kurbain Said aka Essad Bey.

Tom Reiss decidedly got to the bottom of an amazing array of events in the man’s life, tracking down his original notebooks and papers.  But we didn’t really feel he got to the bottom of the man’s motivation or inner story.  So we came away somewhat disappointed on that score.  We all felt it was one of the densest-in-detail books we had ever read, which made it a bit slow going at times for some of us.

But what we found most remarkable about reading the book is how ignorant we realize we are about 20th century history.   The circuit in time and place this man’s life took brought together a remarkable combination of stories about Azerbaijan (so rich in oil the ground would burst into flames), the Russian Revolution and its connection to the rise of fascism, not to mention all the cultural and religious clashes in Central Asia and the Middle East.

We wish we had been taught history this way in school.  And we’re afraid we are too old to remember what we just learned for long now.  The best part of reading this book for us was thinking about how exciting teaching and learning history could be…

in a reflective mood today

mostly brought on by a co-worker’s comment yesterday about how often i put myself down.  i think i brushed it off with a “oh, i’m just kidding of course” but later realized this is an opportunity for me and he is right…  so i will be reflecting on that in days to come…

the second reason…

So one reason my load is lighter and hope is brighter these days is Francesca.  She’s the caregiver who comes in and helps Blaine in the morning several days a week now, doing bowel care, laundry, and other things as needed (like trying to help him get organized).  This weekend I found myself doing several things that have been on my to-do list for years.  Yes, years!  I am not kidding!  Do you have any idea how fine that felt?!?!?!

What a difference a little help makes!  I couldn’t begin to imagine…

The other major change that has really helped is the service of the Tri-Met LIFT bus.  That has given us all a kind of freedom necessary to take things to the next level… I shall explain.

For years and years, Ric  drove Blaine to Free Geek around 2 p.m. and picked him up after 7 p.m. when it closed.  When the weather was nice, Blaine took the bus, which travels down a street near our house.  But when it was raining (hello! this is Portland!!), Ric was his transportation.  This meant that Ric had to arrange his day to be available at 2 p.m. and around 7:30 p.m.  

Once he started his Call the Fixer business, this was a real issue in the afternoons.  Either he had to stop working for the day, or leave the job for a time, or Blaine got soaked to the skin in the rain, or couldn’t go to Free Geek that day.   In the evening, it pretty much shut out any and all activities for Ric and I, since we’re way too old for the ones that begin at 10 p.m.

So Blaine applied to use the LIFT bus.  First, Tri-Met said he could use it on days when the temperature did not exceed 32 degrees.  In Portland, that’s 1-3 days per year.  We appealed.  Then they raised the limit to days when the temperature did not exceed 45 degrees.  Again, very few days in Portland.  So we went to a hearing.  To cut to the chase, after the hearing the panel decided he should have unlimited access to the service.  Good on them.

Not so great was all the time and energy it took to convince them to do the right thing.  I’ve attached a document I prepared for the hearing, which will give you a better idea of what it took to navigate that system.  And how and why I got exhausted. 

Blaine’s appeal

Why I’m supporting Obama…

So last fall when I took an online quiz about which presidential candidate my views most closely align with, the results showed that I was something like 99.9% compatible with Dennis Kucinich.  Which tells you how likely I am to ever have my political wishes come true.  But I’ve lived with that a long time.  I can remember elections in which not a single person I voted for won.   So it came at no surprise that he didn’t do very well in any primaries and has been long gone from the race well before the Oregon primary.

Because the political season is so-o-o-0-o lo-o-o-o-g these days, I figured I wouldn’t invest that much energy into making a decision until I saw who was going to be left by the time the Oregon primary rolled around (if there was even still a contest!?)   When it was clear that the two front runners were Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, I kinda figured I would support Hillary because it might offer the only chance for me to see a woman become president during my lifetime.  To be honest, I’ve never been a huge Hillary fan and I’m not even sure why.  Well, I have some ideas, but I’ll get to that later.  I was so shocked, though, when I ran into people who just out and out couldn’t stand her.  And they were often women??  Even before she stood by her man through the Monica thing, which I know offended a lot of women because they wanted to see her slap Bill upside the head.  Which may well get to the heart of why she brings out mistrust in people.  If she put up with all his crap because she had political ambitions, we just flat out don’t admire that.  It makes her seem like a person who is guided by what works strategically and what gets her ahead, not by her soul.  Which sometimes makes her seem soulless.  Full of naked ambition, having lost touch with what makes us humane.  Or something like that…

But still, I felt a lot of criticism of her was sexist, and I really wanted to find a way to like and support her.  But the first straw was Bill Clinton’s blatantly racist remarks after the South Carolina primary.  And he just wouldn’t shut up saying offensive things about Barack Obama.  

Then she did things I thought were a little off the chart.  Like “visiting” Florida after she pledged not to campaign there because the DNC punished them for not following the rules.  (I think the rules are stupid, mind you, but if you pledge to follow stupid rules, don’t change your mind and try to sneak by.)  Then arguing that the Michigan and Florida primary results should be counted after all (as if she would be making the same argument if she had lost them!?)  There were a whole string of these kinds of things that struck me as quite unethical.<br
It also seemed like there was no consistency in her behavior.  One evening during a debate she was making nice with Obama, then the next day she just blasted him in a really nasty way.  What, because some in the media interpreted your graciousness as a kind of concession, you have to rear up and get mean?? Come on… give ME a break!

One evening watching the news, there were just one too many of these things.  I got so frustrated, I jumped up, ran to my computer, and donated $100 to Obama.  (Becoming one of the more than $1 million).  I had just had enough.  Part of what I am so sick of, what I want to change, what I want to be gone from politics is a win at any cost attitude, do anything to win, damn the torpedoes and never mind how much damage you cause…  And frankly, that’s what I feel Hillary’s campaign has become. Increasingly, it seems to be driven by anger and negativity.

I will have no part of it.  That’s part of what’s wrong with our government, in my view.  It’s being run by people who have no conscience, no shame, no qualms about what they do and how much damage they cause, and whether they have support of the people.  That’s how people who will do anything to win a campaign govern.  And that’s what I am so over.  Enough.  It stops now.

Barack Obama is saying things that sometimes people don’t want to hear.  (E.g., he told the auto industry rather than environmentalists that he wants 40 mpg vehicles.) He’s not stooping to doing anything to win.  He is behaving with integrity.  He says he will talk with those who have become enemies of the U.S.  He got thoroughly slammed for saying that, including by Hillary.  But instead of soft-shoeing that or avoiding it, he’s still bringing it up in his speeches. About damn time we have a candidate who doesn’t determine his positions and words by tracking polls or focus groups or handlers!  Of course we should talk to those who are our adversaries if we ever have any hope of changing our relationship.  We can’t just bully our way through this world, as the current administration has been doing.  As Dr. Phil might ask, “How’s that workin’ for ya?”  Hello!  It’s not.

I want to be a proud American again.  I think I have the best chance of doing that if Barack Obama becomes president.  After attending the rally in Portland Friday morning, I am confident he is a man of courage, conviction and integrity.  I also think he is a very strong person, and a lot of people who are calling him “inexperienced” and “naive” like Hillary and the Republicans are doing seriously underestimate this man.     

We must elect him president! 

a bad sign

I actually just read the McCartney/Mills divorce decree.  Not a good sign… I must be sicker than I think.

Not that my opinion matters, but I think she’s a bit of a nutter… 

you can’t make this stuff up…

So I go back to the medical supply place to turn in the catheters.  would you believe that in the time since i was in there last, the catheter company has been bought out by another, so now the box looks different but they assure me it is “the same product inside.”  Inside a week this happens!?!?!? They better be right, and it better fit the extension tube.

So here’s my question:  on what date will one company own everything? and don’t they have enough on their plate (and in their pockets) already?

WSBG reviews Had a Good Time by Robert Olen Butler

We in the World’s Smallest Book Group picked this book because all of us so enjoyed the earlier one by this author we read many years ago.  Good Scent from a Strange Mountain.  Wonderful stories of Vietnamese immigrants to the U.S.  Gentle culture.  Sweet characters.  Strange new land.  Interesting results.

This book (subtitle is Stories from American Postcards) seemed promising.  Fascinating premise.  Collect old picture postcards and write a short story based on the photo on the front and personal message on the back of the postcard.  

For example, the first story is based on this postcard and describes strange and interesting encounters between two men from different ends of the class spectrum in early 20th century America.  
The second story comes up with an explanation for why there is a postcard with a woman standing in a World War I trench with the handwritten label  ”Mother in the trenches.” 

First few stories really worked, made us admire the approach.  Good writing. Got very tedious after that.  Seemed to become gimmicky and almost became a parody of itself by the end of the book.   

Conclusion:  should have remained a short story!  Expect Powell’s won’t buy back.  I think I got it from the remainder table…  should have been a clue!

A Fan’s Notes by Frederick Exley

And our first question to Joyce, who brought the book to our attention, was: where the hell did you find this book?!?!?!

We were surprised to find ourselves reading a book published in 1969 that a group of dedicated readers like us had never come across before. We all, to varying degrees, admired the writing, but the deep seated hatred of women it expressed shocked us… especially since the cover blurbs were so glowing! “A singularly moving, entertaining, funny book,” according to the New York Times. Newsday called it “The best novel written in the English language since The Great Gatsby.”

Yes, there was humor. Agreed, many well-turned phrases. And the man is brilliant and erudite. But the misogyny! And racism. At some point, we couldn’t get past it. Was it so rampant in 1969 that this expression of it was considered unremarkable? Do only men read this book?

We were touched by his admission near the end that he realized he was doomed to be a spectator when he wanted so badly to be the star performer. But we hoped for further insight into his self-destructive and self-involved way of being.

Glad we are finished. Back to Powell’s it goes.

World’s smallest book group bookblog

I am a proud member of the world’s smallest book group (WSBG).  We’ve been meeting since September 1990.  Well, Joyce, Reba and I have.  Darcy joined a few months later.  We still consider her a probationary member.

We are a very picky book group.  We don’t read just anything.  Each member has veto power and we exercise it often.  We might be a little quirky too.  We once chose a book on the basis of the smooth and sensual surface of its cover.  No kidding.  (It was the softcover version of The Discovery of Light by J.P. Smith)

We read at least one book a month, maybe more often two.  The other members are much smarter than I am. In fact, I bet they are the smartest people I know. Reba is in charge of detecting the theme when there is more than one book.  Joyce comes up with the best nominations.  Darcy has acute insight.  I fear I am known as the wacky one.  

So what follows is what we have been reading…  

Monday morning menu

Word has it that the correct catheters have arrived in the local store.  I will be going over there today to exchange them.  For real, this time, right?!

My home office is now nearly clean and organized.  Just a bit more tidying and organizing. What a load off this will be! 

Other tasks for today:  do some work work, answer email, plan menu and go grocery shopping, make exercise plan that I will actually implement, sew new curtain for Toaster Moon, water greenhouse, twitter as needed, etc.  Stop there, please.  That’s enough.  

One more task:  recognize my tendency to make lists that are too long.