Feb 06 2022

The Haw Lantern by Seamus Heaney

Seamus Heaney followed his longest collection, Station Island, with one of his shortest, The Haw Lantern. Like several of his other collections, The Haw Lantern has a tripartite structure; unlike the others that I have read so far, its sections are not explicitly marked. Nevertheless, the ten sonnets that Heaney wrote in memory of his mother, who passed in 1984, form a middle section for the book, with the groupings of poems before and after forming distinct sections as well.

The Haw Lantern by Seamus Heaney

Poets construct their collections as carefully as they construct their poems — here Amanda Gorman shows pages arranged in a possible order for Call Us What We Carry — with a particular kind of experience in mind for their readers. And yet, when I came to “Clearances” in the middle of The Haw Lantern, I was not in a frame of mind to read a sonnet sequence dedicated to a deceased mother. I walked on by, and returned to “Clearances” as the last bits of The Haw Lantern that I read. Try as the poets might, readers will stubbornly insist on having their own experiences, being struck by different things upon reading the poems.

The first of “Two Quick Notes” struck me with particular force.

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Feb 04 2022

I Hop by Joe Cepeda

This book is such a breath of fresh air for early readers and, especially, for the people who love them.

Perhaps I just haven’t been reading the right books with my kids, but most of the books written for this market tend to feature either really smarmy or really annoying characters, often repeating things (as they need to in order to strengthen reading recognition) in ways that feel artificial. I Hop does not have any of these problems, leaning perfectly into its verbally minimalist vibe to get the story across while managing to be charming through and through.

The book begins with a boy and his dad coming across a pogo stick at a garage sale. After putting on a helmet and learning how to use his new contraption, the boy hops all over town, ending with a heartwarming scene of intergenerational affection. In fairness, I did have one tiny criticism of the book: I really wanted pancakes from about the middle of the volume onward. I thought that was a me-problem until my eldest glanced over while I was reading this with his younger brothers, and immediately asked if there were any pancakes in this book. Maybe it’s just in our genetics, ha.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/02/04/i-hop-by-joe-cepeda/

Feb 03 2022

To the Land of Long Lost Friends by Alexander McCall Smith

To the Land of Long Lost Friends begins with a wedding and moves quickly to a funereal subject.

To the Land of Long Lost Friends by Alexander McCall Smith

And it was on the way [to the catering tent] that Mma Ramotswe suddenly gripped Mr J.L.B. Matekon’s arm.
“I have seen a ghost, Rra,” she said, her voice filled with alarm.
He looked at her in astonishment, uncertain whether to laugh.
“There,” hissed Mma Ramotswe. “There, Rra — right over there.”
He looked where she was pointing. There was a group of four women and two men, each dressed in their wedding best. …
“Those are people, Mma,” he said. “They are not ghosts, as far as I can see.”
She shook her head. Lowering her voice, she said, “One of them is late, Rra. That one over there — she is late.” …
“That’s definitely her, Rra,”she said, her voice still uneven with shock. “That woman over there. That’s Calviniah. And she’s late. She’s definitely late.”
Mr J.L.B. Matekoni frowned. “Who is this Calviniah, Mma Ramotswe? I really don’t know what you’re talking about. There are no late people here, Mma.” He shrugged helplessly. …
“I have seen a very old friend — somebody I knew a long time ago, from schooldays. She went off to live up in Francistown and I lost touch with her, and with her family too. Then …” she trailed off. The woman was coming towards them now, still talking to the group around her.
“Then?” asked Mr J.L.B. Matekoni.
“Then I read in the papers that she had been killed in a road accident. There was a picture of her in the press. I couldn’t get to the funeral because it was up north…”
Mma Ramotswe put a hand to her mouth, in a gesture of profound shock. The woman in the hat had suddenly stopped, and was staring at her. Then, very quickly, she ran forwards towards Mma Ramotswe, stopping just short of her. Mr J.L.B. Matekoni stood quite still. Things had happened so quickly, and he was uncertain what to do.
“Precious Ramotswe?” The woman spoke loudly.
Mma Ramotswe nodded. “Calviniah…”
Calviniah took a step forward, her arms wide. “I thought it was you” she said. “And it is you, isn’t it?” …
Calviniah turned back to Mma Ramotswe and embraced her friend. “It is so long,” she said. “It is so very long.”
“I thought you were late,” Mma Ramotswe struggled to say. “I couldn’t believe my eyes.”
Calviniah drew back and laughed. “Oh, that? That was very unfortunate.”
Mr J.L.B. Matekoni’s eyes widened. That was one way of putting it, he thought.
Calviniah let out an amused shriek. “No! I am definitely not late, as I hope you can see. No, that was a big mistake by the newspaper. There was another Calviniah Ramoroka, you see.” (pp. 13–17)

Twenty books into the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, McCall Smith can not only pull off lovely and hilarious set pieces like this one — the explanation gets even better — but he can remind readers that despite their long acquaintance with the characters there is still much more to learn about them.

The book, like the others in the series, follows several strands. A few days after the wedding, Mma Ramotswe and Calviniah meet to catch up on each other’s lives, since Calviniah, news reports to the contrary, is actually having one. During the conversation it comes out that Calviniah’s daughter has recently become distant, leaving her sad and puzzled. Mma Ramotswe does not promise to take this question on as an official case, but over the course of the book she takes an interest and begins to follow some threads. One official case concerns a wife who thinks her husband is having an affair when he claims he is learning more mathematics. There is also a matter (though not a case) of another friend who seems to have given all of her considerable money, plus a very nice Mercedes Benz, to a new reverend who is making waves in Gabarone.

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Feb 02 2022

Bright Star by Yuyi Morales

A whitetail fawn wakes up in the Sonoran desert as this gorgeously rendered picture book opens. Her mother doe gently and lovingly nudges her into awareness of the beauty of the desert world around her as they travel, searching for food and water. The fawn is encouraged not only to look at, listen to and appreciate her natural surroundings, but also to learn how to deal with fear and how to cry out against injustice.

This last is embodied by the mystifying appearance of an unnecessary wall, lamented by all manner of flora and fauna. It’s no surprise then, when the fawn turns into a young girl, who is urged to imagine a beautiful world where children are all loved for the bright stars that they are.

As an open borders absolutist, I am 100% behind the message of this lovely children’s book, and would recommend it to readers of all ages. And not just because of the message, vital as I think that is. The artwork, particularly of the natural world, is stunning. There is a particular transition towards the end, from fawn to child, that is especially affecting, almost haunting. You’d have to be pretty stone-hearted to not feel empathy for the poor kid, stymied by the wall. Border walls don’t just harm the environment, they also cause unnecessary trauma for children who don’t necessarily understand why they have to be separated from others, and especially the ones they love, on the basis of often racist politics.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/02/02/bright-star-by-yuyi-morales/

Jan 30 2022

From Page to Screen: The Tragedy of Macbeth

Terry Pratchett has neatly ruined Macbeth‘s opening for me — the eldritch screech of “When shall we three meet again?” answered by a nonplussed “Well, I can do next Tuesday” — but Kathryn Hunter’s contortions in her role as the witches and Joel Coen’s creepy direction do much to restore the story’s uncanny atmosphere. The Tragedy of Macbeth, an Apple original movie that I saw in a smallish cinema but which most people will probably see at home via streaming, brings the virtues of the stage to the screen, and virtues of the movies to an adaptation of a play.

The Tragedy of Macbeth (poster)

The named places in Macbeth are nearly all in Scotland, but this movie version makes no attempt to tie the action to a real place. Like a play, its settings are more suggestion than location. The outdoor scenes are nearly all light and fog, with the merest sets standing in for landscapes. Coen is more generous with skies, especially those haunted by circling birds that may or may not be the witches transformed.

Shot in black and white, the visual style of this Macbeth draws heavily on the German Expressionism of the silent film era. The angular sets reminded me of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, while the mood and use of light reminded me of The Seventh Seal, which is of course neither German nor silent but as intimately concerned with death as Macbeth. Like Caligari, the story in Macbeth turns very much on its lead characters’ states of mind, and how those change over the course of the tale. One memorable outdoor scene in The Tragedy of Macbeth recalled The Night of the Hunter, one of the most menacing movies I have ever seen.

The final fights of Macbeth’s life — nearly the only on-screen violence in this version — take place on a set designed to resemble a rampart. Those narrow confines, with suggestion of fatal drops to either side, symbolize how Macbeth’s choices have led him to a constricted space where he must fight all comers or die. He has no more supporters, he has nowhere to turn; in the end, he has no more choices.

One of this version’s most interesting choices is the suggestion that the nobleman Ross is playing all sides against each other in his own game. He is with Macbeth; he attempts to warn Lady Macduff; he is witness to Lady Macbeth’s undone state; he is with Macduff in England. Coen takes up the suggestion of some scholars that Ross is the third murderer who does in Banquo. In the text, the third murderer is not identified. Macbeth himself only engages two to kill Banquo, yet when asked the third says that Macbeth sent him. Two other scenes, including the movie’s last one, suggest that Ross is playing a game that stretches beyond not only Macbeth and Macduff but also beyond murdered Duncan’s son Malcolm, who reclaims the throne after Birnam wood comes to Dunsinane. I re-read the play not long after seeing the movie, and I think it’s an intriguing choice. It adds a layer of plotting, gives depth to a lesser character, and shows that a restoration is not the end of conflict.

The Tragedy of Macbeth is a very striking version of the Scottish tragedy. The reimagined witches’ cauldron from the first scene of act IV stands out among the movie’s visual moments that have the immediacy of live theater but which could never be put together on a stage. Macbeth’s death is similarly effective in how the visuals display the play’s themes. The artificiality of its appearance, and artifice in its production, transport the story from windswept Scotland to a timeless meditation on ambition and its price.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/01/30/from-page-to-screen-the-tragedy-of-macbeth/

Jan 28 2022

Say Goodbye by Lewis Shiner (Encore)

While skittling down a different Wikipedia rabbit hole, I came upon the name of Skip Spence. He is rather obviously the model for “the legendary Skip Shaw” in Say Goodbye, where Shaw is Laurie Moss’ love interest and one of her principal antagonists. (The other two, I would say, are Laurie herself and the structure of the music business.)

Say Goodbye by Lewis Shiner

Both Skips were talented guitarists who were well-known in late 1960s West Coast rock and roll circles. Both had a semi-famous song or two, both recorded a single solo album, and both largely withdrew from the music business. Both had heroin problems. Real Skip died a few months after Say Goodbye was published.

Shiner give fictional Skip a better life than his model had. When the book opens, Shaw has a nice home filled with collectible art, a legacy of the money he earned during his brief stardom and one he didn’t manage to piss away during his darker times. He’s making decent money as a session player for tv and radio commercials, and he’s in the garage band with Gabe, Jim, and Dennis. He’s sober-ish, or at least off the harder drugs. Shaw is still wrestling with his demons, and though he doesn’t have them pinned, he’s got a decent grip on them. At least until Laurie shows up, giving Shaw glimpses of what had been and what might be again.

Spence mixed schizophrenia with LSD and heroin, and he never really recovered. In Say Goodbye, when Shaw meets someone who knew his previous work, he gets a question that Spence probably got a lot, too: “You’re still alive?” Despite his apparent best efforts, he was. One profile described Spence as someone who “neither died young nor had a chance to find his way out.” With Laurie Moss and the rest of the band, Shaw has a belated opportunity to find his way out.

A year before the time Say Goodbye is set, Skip Spence had written a song for an X Files tribute and performed one last time with Moby Grape. Within half a year of its publication, he was dead of lung cancer.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/01/28/say-goodbye-by-lewis-shiner-encore/

Jan 26 2022

Magical History Tour #7: Gandhi, Soldier Of Peace by Fabrice Erre & Sylvain Savoia

I’ve found the Magical History Tour series to be incredibly intelligent and moving to date, but I did not expect to cry quite as much as I did while reading this seventh installment, and particularly over the life and times of a figure who’s become so familiar, I almost take for granted that I already know everything I need to about him.

Clearly I did not, as Fabrice Erre and Sylvain Savoia bring to life the kid-friendly biography of one of the greatest figures of the 20th century. It’s no mean feat to distil the Indian subcontinent’s complicated tangle of social and political systems into one fifty-page illustrated volume but the authors do so with aplomb through the lens of Mahatma Mohandas Gandhi’s life, covering his birth, upbringing, education and political awakening on his way to leading political movements both in South Africa and India, before his death at the hands of extremists. While Mssr Erre’s gentle narrative voice (in the form of calm, wise Annie advising her more excitable little brother Nico on how to deal with a school bully using Gandhi’s teachings) presents events as neutrally as possible, Mssr Savoia’s illustrations infuse the words with all the emotion necessary. Just seeing a round-faced Gandhi as a child grow up into a straight-backed young man in European dress before becoming the ascetic figure most recognizable to people round the globe felt like a sucker punch to this middle-aged mom, who thinks of mortality and the innocence of childhood far more often than I used to. Children reading this graphic novel probably won’t see the pathos, and that’s okay. Books (and media) that can be appreciated on many levels by readers of all and different ages are a good and precious thing.

To be perfectly honest, the parts that felt most wild and wonderful to me were the parts describing the actions Gandhi took to rebel against unjust rule. In a sense, his historical struggle against colonialism was easier because it had an easy enemy to define: the exploitative British government that refused local self-determination was fairly simple to identify and reject. It’s harder for modern movements that cannot rely on obvious identity signifiers to see who genuinely cares about democracy vs a creeping authoritarianism that adopts the language of unity when all it really seeks is dominion.

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Jan 25 2022

Good Rich People by Eliza Jane Brazier

This was a really excellent examination of poverty and class that was somewhat marred by an under-explored ending. I suppose one could argue that everything that needed to be said was contained in the preceding pages but I, for one, wanted to know what happened to Helen next.

Good Rich People is the story of Lyla, a moneyed young woman whose father lost everything, so decided to claw back her rightful place in society by fascinating the handsome and obscenely wealthy Graham Herschel. Even tho she suspected that he wasn’t a good person, she didn’t particularly care — or, as she begins to suspect towards the end of the book, she subconsciously thought she could change him. But as her marriage begins to falter, she finds herself drawn further and further into the sick games Graham and his mother Margo play with the tenants they specially select to live in the guesthouse below her own home, just across the street from Margo’s palatial estate.

Demi Golding is their latest tenant, and Lyla can’t figure out whether she’s just stubbornly solitary or, worse, a plant brought there by Margo to ensure that Lyla doesn’t win. For it’s Lyla’s turn to play the game, to prove herself to her husband and mother-in-law, to show that she deserves to stay in their rarefied circles. But she’s already broken the rules once, when everything went wrong with their former tenant. Will she be able to break the rules again in order to save herself, and possibly the lives of others?

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/01/25/good-rich-people-by-eliza-jane-brazier/

Jan 24 2022

Swords in the Mist by Fritz Leiber

Fritz Leiber gave the name “swords and sorcery” to the genre that his heroes, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, did so much to define. Both elements are plentiful in the third collection of their tales Swords in the Mist, which was first published in 1968. Four stories comprise the bulk of the volume. “Adept’s Gambit,” the longest and last, was published first, in 1947. “Lean Times in Lankhmar” is from 1959; “When the Sea-King’s Away” is from 1960; and “The Cloud of Hate,” which opens the volume, is the newest, from 1963. The remaining two bits are very short pieces that were written to smooth over what would otherwise be very abrupt transitions.

Swords in the Mist by Fritz Leiber

Three of the four main stories were still familiar to me forty years since I read them the first time, and probably at least twenty since I read them last. What gives these tales such staying power? Three things, I think. First, their directness. They are straight-up what-happens-next stories of suspense, daring and danger. They are other things, too, but first of all readers want to find out what happens and how the heroes get out of the scrapes they have gotten themselves into. In contrast to some of the stories in Swords Against Death, the stories in Swords in the Mist are not written as if Fafhrd or the Mouser might actually die, but there is still tension in finding out just how they will escape the latest predicament.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/01/24/swords-in-the-mist-by-fritz-leiber/

Jan 21 2022

Say Goodbye by Lewis Shiner

Twenty years before his magnum opus on life and music and bands and fame, Lewis Shiner published Say Goodbye a shorter novel on the same themes, set in the mid-1990s rather than the 1960s. The books share more than just themes: Laurie Moss, the central character of Say Goodbye is the daughter of Mike Moss, a singer in a high-school band that appears early in Outside the Gates of Eden. She gets her guitar from him, and much more.

Say Goodbye by Lewis Shiner

Shiner initially approaches Laurie’s story sideways, with an unnamed first-person narrator who’s a freelance music journalist in an unhappy marriage. The reporter interviews people who knew Laurie Moss when she was new in Los Angeles, yet another person drawn into the bright California sunshine for their chance at the even brighter lights of fame and fortune. There’s the guy from a music store who sold her her first four-track recorder and wound up getting her on stage for the first time in LA. “She was quiet sitting around the table, but onstage she had this, like eagerness. Like at the end of each song she couldn’t wait to get to the next one. It was some very contagious shit. … You could really see the energy happening [onstage] between Summer and Laurie. It’s like…it was enough for me to have done that, to have introduced them. I’m happy just being around the buzz, I don’t have to be the buzz, if you know what I mean. Not Laurie, though. She had that bone-deep hunger. I liked her from the first, but that hunger made me scared for her too.” (pp. 3–4)

There’s Bobbi, who owns the restaurant where Laurie worked for a while part-time. Bobbi had come out to LA in the mid-1960s, starstruck and sure that “Destiny had her hand on the telephone, about to dial my number. I was something then, you wouldn’t believe it to look at me now. Smart, good-looking, ambitious. I stuck it out for two years. All I ever got were walk-ons, which I took, and propositions, which I didn’t.” (pp. 4–5) Destiny never called.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2022/01/21/say-goodbye-by-lewis-shiner/