A New Juliet

I don't like Juliet Capulet.  

There, I said it. 

I want to, but I don't like her.  Also, her name rhymes. 

That girl whiiiiines.  And she is needy.  And spoiled.  And a bit dense at communicating.  I know, star-crossed lovers, destiny, missed opportunities, true love, blah blah blah.  But couldn't she just be a bit more awesome in the process a little less, well...Juliet-ish?  C'mon kid.  Step up.  And MAKE SURE THE GUY KNOWS YOU ARE GOING TO DRINK SLEEPING DRUG. 

And...awkward internet silence.  

Sorry 'bout that.  I just don't love her.  

Also -- great cover.  

So when I read The Juliet Stories by Carrie Snyder, I actually started in really, really hoping that it would have nothing to do with Shakespeare's teenage concoction.  Thankfully, our little 10 year old protagonist was nothing like her Elizabethan counterpart and was a fabulously real, growing girl.  Struggling through the turbulent political and personal settings her parents fling her into, Juliet's stories are experiences of seeing people and their short-comings over and over again.  She learns, as we all do, that life is hard, that we are often only getting glimpses into people and that no one, not even our parents, are perfect.  But more than that, she learns how she will react and how she will hold her own story together.

The writing itself is a dance.  The moments are simple and complex, hot and cold, sticky and clean. Snyder moves you through time and place with an ease that is almost elusive -- I felt like I was trailing behind Juliet for the whole book, like I was along for the ride of her every day.  Snyder tells her story through moments: you are rarely hearing about big pieces of plot movement outside of Juliet experiencing them or simplying naming them.  The moments tell the story, lend pieces to a puzzle that you work out as you go.  Not everything is offered up front, but you get enough.  This book was a good reminder of how limited anyone's perspective is, including our own; no matter how much we want to think we 'get' things, we simply only see what we can see. 

I absorbed this book -- really, it absorbed me.  I felt like I wanted to keep holding it, get closer, read it again.  It was a quick read -- not too long or too dense, but so very, very full.  

I recommend it wholeheartedly.  So if you look for it check out your local, independent bookstore, ideally (mine is www.wordsworthbooks.com).  The author is from my hometown, so I was happy to support her and local business in the process.  

Read on, friends!

Reality TV and Food? Count me in!

I like Gail Simmons--not only is she very knowledgeable about food but she gets to wear great clothes and eat for a living.  She has THE BEST JOB EVER (other than being mother to my children, which is the greatest job, period).  But, seriously, I want to be paid to eat for a living.  Unfortunately, my food knowledge is almost entirely gleaned from Food Network shows and one encounter with Susur Lee and his food (totally amazing) so I'm pretty sure I would be a terrible food presenter.  But Gail is a great food presenter.  AND she's on Top Chef.  AND she's Canadian.  AND she wrote a book!  How could I resist?  
  
Eating with My Mouth Full by Gail Simmons

I love food on TV and I particularly love good reality TV about food...and the best of the best is Top Chef.  As a person who has extensively googled about reality shows are filmed, Gail's chapters on being a Top Chef judge and Top Chef: Just Desserts host were enthralling!  She provides great anecdotes without giving away too much.  All the details, little insights and explanations of how such a production happens were morsels of goodness to my ever hungry behind-the-scenes appetite.  Now I just have to get myself on a set one day to see it happen in person! 

Even better than the reality TV dish are her food descriptions. They are amazing.  Drool worthy.  Made me want to live at the St. Lawrence Market and my next trip be to the Aspen Food & Wine Festival.  I was inspired to cook (and bake) for days.  I was made a better cook through her little hints and offerings as she weaves her tale, starting from childhood in Toronto to line cook in Toronto to marketing manager to event producer to TV personality.  Her tone is upbeat and optimistic while maintaining a vulnerability and honesty that I wasn't expecting but really appreciated.  She seems so real as she tells her story and yet the food seems completely unreal and incredibly delicious.  Her lovely, conversational tone adds accessibility to high-end food and life experiences.    

It is clear that Gail loves food.  She made me want to eat and eat and eat.  It was a truly delicious read.  But more than that, it is clear she loves people, her family, her friends and her colleagues.  Her love and respect shine through; her humility and openness make you love her.  

Enjoy the book but make sure you have good snacks handy!  

With all The Elegance of a Hedgehog.

When I was in grade ten my history teacher told me I "wrote like a gorilla."  He even put it on my interim report card.  While it seems harsh, it was true.  I have always worked at writing--editing carefully (okay, not so much on the blog) and really forcing myself to take a detailed look at grammatical rules.  I'm still fuzzy on some things (like split infinitives) and ever mindful of number agreement (so much easier to use 'them' when he/she is the right choice) but more or less, I have gotten over my gorilla-like tendencies.  Even by the end of grade 10, great strides had been made.

So when someone loves grammar or is very aware of the rules, I'm a bit in awe.  After all, I am usually doing my best to keep my head above grammatical water, let alone be able to notice grammatical flaws in public places.  I can edit and edit and edit but I don't usually choose to edit my daily surroundings.  In my experience, being too critical always ends badly. 

Grammar, and all of it foibles, plays a central role in The Elegance of the Hedgehog (I really, really love the title).  Two characters tell their own quest for truth, meaning and beauty while facing the day-to-day limitations of life and culture in modern day Paris.  A little dense, yes.  A good read, certainly.  I openly admit to skimming sections that are waxing philosophical on art and the theory of art.  I much preferred the narrative elements to the philosophical, metaphorical musings.  But whenever the author was about to lose me because we had droned on about art long enough, the story reappeared and drew me in again. 

To summarize: if lofty language and academic prose aren't your thing then this book is not for you.  However, if you are willing to read with a dictionary close at bay (another argument for e-readers), this book is a sweet read with a touching finish.  And you will completely understand why such a a title would ever be given to a book. 

Next up: a recommendation The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More (Roald Dahl) and The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (Alan Bradley)

And in other Non-Fiction...

So really, I'm not a non-fiction girl.  I'm just not.  Some days I wish I could be, but I just love me my fiction.  I love stories that take me far away and it always seems a bit harsh to spend my escape time having to read about someone else's reality.  But, recently, I have been coming around on the whole non-fiction thing and have finding some great reads.  I even voluntarily wander the biography aisles at the book store now.  Chalk it up to growth! 

You'll also notice a theme--most of them are about situations in the Middle East.  Not an intentional theme at all.  I have always found the situations of Iraq, Iran, Israel, Palestine, Gaza and the West Bank a little (okay, a lot) daunting because the history is long, the situations complicated and the way forward is unclear.  The varying realities of these places are hard to understand and even harder to unpack.  For many years, I just ignored them (even though I worked in International Relations).  These books have offered great insights into situations that I felt it was easier to ignore.  Unintentionally, I have now begun to get a much better grasp on the Middle East.  All I've learned, however, is that things are deeply complicated.  The authors of the books below each offer his/her own insights and experiences, but there are many stories to hear and many options to weigh.  If you figure any of it out, please let me know! 

I also noticed another theme...all the books are written from the perspective of the powerless: women in Iran and Palenstinians in Israel.  It is worth recognizing that there are many people who would not consider these the voices to listen to.  For me, they are a integral part of the story who deserve to be heard. 
Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
I think this might be the first non-fiction book I stuck with all the way through.  Maybe because it was about a girl who loved reading or maybe because Nafisi has a compelling way of telling her story.  Using four classic Western novels, she weaves a tale of life for women in the Islamic regime in Iran.  Forced out of her work and her life, Nafisi encourages other young women to keep reading and to keep hoping for change. 

Some have suggested this book is a bit too academic.  That wasn't my experience and I really didn't know anything about Iran.  I did, however, know about some of the books she refers to (Pride and Prejudice, Lolita, Daisy Miller, The Great Gatsby).  I would suggest reading the classics before reading this book, if you have time and the patience for Henry James and Vladimir Nabokov. 

Sometimes I feel like reading fiction might be a waste of time.  After all, there are so many great, true stories out there that seem to hold more water than ficticious tales.  But Nafisi's book is a reminder that fiction can tell great truths about humanity that are otherwise hard to hear.  If we let the books read us, we might get more than we bargained for.

If you like Nafisi, her second book, Things I've Been Silent About is a much more personal look into her life.  She has issues with her mother (lots and lots).  She also has a lot to say about how we grow and begin to understand those around us.  This book might be a better introduction to her person, but as someone who loves reading, I'll stick with Reading Lolita.

Blood Brothers by Elias Chacour
I should admit that this book came to me through work.  However, it is one of those books that I took into my heart.  I have never come across a more poignant tale of the Israel-Palestine conflict than this story.  Chacour's heart and hope shine through every page.  As someone who knew even less about Israel than I did about Iran, this book provided a clear and concise history of the relationships between the two nation-states (and the broader world).  Although Chacour is Palestinian, his love for his Jewish and Israeli brothers and sisters is so strong that it hardly feels biased (although, inherently, it is).  If you are at all interested in this part of the world, read this book.  Chacour will make you want to grow a fig tree and change the world all in a few short pages. 

I Shall Not Hate by Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish
When his daughters are killed by an Israeli bomb, Dr. Abuelaish (a Palestinian) decides not to hate, but to tell his story. To ask for change--specifically for the empowerment of women.  This tale of Palestinian-Israeli relations is a bit harder to engage with than Blood Brothers.  Still a great read, this book gives you a more day-to-day sense of the depth of the strain and struggle between these two nations.  Dr. Abuelaish's heartbreaking story is captivating because he endures when most would give up and he hopes when most would despair. 

Likely I'll stick to reading mostly fiction.  But these books are almost enough to change my mind!

Prisoner of Tehran

Canada Reads Book #1: Prisoner of Tehran by Marina Nemat

Sometimes, when you read a book, you reflect on your own life and realize how trivial it all might be.  The little obstacles I overcome on a daily basis, the small victories or sadnesses that daily life brings, they seem huge to me because they are my experiences, but after reading this book, all I can think about is perspective: getting some and keeping some.  When I was through with this book I realized that the spectrum of my own emotions was limited.  Nemat's greatest sufferings are so much worse than mine have ever been but, I would guess, her greatest joys are so much greater because of the perspective her pain has given her.  Not that I'm looking for pain -- just that I have to remember, all the time, the bigger picture of life, suffering and joy. 

The foundation of the books is Marina's experience in Iran's notorious political prison, Evin.  Moving between her prison experience and the story that brought her there, Nemat paints a picture of a life loved, disrupted and regained.  Her's is a tale of orientation, disorientation and reorientation--stages we all find ourselves in as we cycle through life.  But Marina's story is so  profound because she manages to maintain and promote the dignity of all people despite having every reason not too.  In a world trying to delineate between good and evil, she inhabits murky space between the two and seeks to find goodness.  It is all any of us can do -- seek to find goodness in a world that doesn't make sense.

Her suffering, her stubbornness, and her sacrifice are all beautifully written and captured, yet clearly only being shared so that others will not have to suffer the same fate.  It is a painful story to share but her humility comes through.  I appreciate this sincerity as other memoirs I've read have seemed self-congratulatory.

But, truly, I only gained perspective on the very last page of the book.  I was eagerly devouring every morsel of this woman that I could--I was even reading the "Acknowledgements" to see who she thanked (this section is my little guilty pleasure because I love seeing how people use it).   And, if I read it correctly, Nemat works at a Swiss Chalet. Swiss Chalet. The woman who has undergone profound suffering, forced marriage and international immigration is the same woman who might have served me dipping sauce.  Not a professor, not a journalist, not a politician, doctor or professional (how could she be?  She was imprisoned from 16 - 18.)  Reading her story, I realize that I am barely worthy of listening to her give a lecture on how to love and be human despite the most inhuman circumstances.  And, yet, when I sit at any given Swiss Chalet, I am rarely considering the server's experience and, certainly, no one expects me to.  That's what I mean about perspective -- getting some and keeping it.  Because there is no reason for me not to wonder about the life experiences of any person I meet, but society creates space between us that is often hard to cross.   To be honest, I am not entirely sure it matters if I read the Swiss Chalet line correctly or not -- it was a lesson I needed to learn. 

This book made me realize many things -- the most important of which is my own ability to silence the experience of others by allowing this culture to create voids of listening between groups of people.  Who else's story needs to be told?  Nemat's story is a gift and I am sure there are many others out there.  

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would happily recommend it.  I have read other perspectives on the experience of women during the reign of Ayatollah Khomeini but I found this one to have a freshness and an intimacy that made it a worthy read.  

I'll save my Canada Reads vote until all the books are read, but we are off to a good start!