More like anecdotes. With porcupines.

I just finished Amateurs by Donald Barthelme.

This was super fast because it is under 200 pages, and it's a series of 3 to 5-page anecdotes, with a title page for each one. So it was really more around 100 pages of actual text. (So Marissa, that is why I read it so fast!)

This wasn't my favorite. I didn't really get a lot of the anecdotes. They didn't seem to relate to each other at all. And while some of the anecdotes featured hilariously funny satire (Porcupines at the University was my favorite. "Why not enroll them in Alternate Life Styles? We've already got too many people in Alternate Life Styles.") others seemed to make no sense.

We are all part of history...and it is very sad.

All Souls Day by Cees Nooteboom is an interesting mix of a novel and a social commentary. Unlike Against the Grain, there is a real story here, interspersed with a whole lot of discussion about history and art. The real story here is very sad. This Dutch guy has lost his wife and child on a plane and he spends his time taking videos (he's a professional cameraman and is working on a documentary project for himself too) and talking with his friends in cafes. There's also an interesting young woman that he happens to come across.

The beauty of the book is really in the thoughts and discussions that he has with his friends. A lot of it went way over my head, but it was really interesting. My favorite thought though, was that clouds are the Holy Spirit's horses and they wander around the world making sure everything is OK. I like that thought a lot.

Not as haba as I thought.

My 17 month old has picked up the word "horrible" - "haba". Everything is "haba" right now.

How do you feel?
Haba.

How is your breakfast?
Haba.

Do you want to go in the car?
Haba.

I was sort of expecting All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Remarque to be, well, haba. I knew it was a novel about World War I and I knew it was going to be a grisly, sad read. But I did wind up liking it to my great surprise. I liked how human the characters seemed. It wasn't all about guns and shooting but more about the characters' feelings about being in the war and about their country.

I think I was supposed to have read this in high school at some point, and I'm actually glad I didn't. I don't think I had the maturity then to be able to appreciate it.

This guy can't stop doing dumb things.

I just finished All About H. Hatterrby G.V. Desani. This was not among my favorite books. I'm certainly missing something culturally here because I just couldn't figure out why on earth this guy wound up in these predicaments. It was as if he had no judgment. His friend would suggest some nonsense scheme and then all of a sudden Hatterr was laying on the ground at a circus sideshow having a lion eat meat off his chest. (I'm not exaggerating that one at all.)

So I'm not sure if I just didn't get it, or if I missed enough cultural references that would put this in context, or what. I'm just glad it's over.

The end of the Crusade.

I got an iPad yesterday. Whenever we acquire a new gadget, Mike and I usually have some kind of discussion about what technology is going to be available when our baby is older and how much she will laugh at us for being so excited about an iPad. ("You were this excited about atouch screen? Hahahahaha!")

Just like my child will probably laugh at the concept of an iPad someday, there are parts of The Albigenses that don't resonate well with a 2010 audience. The first half or so of the fourth volume is a very detailed battle scene. There is quite a bit of untranslated Latin and French throughout the book. And the mere fact that it's four volumes means that it's a big commitment for a reader.

Which is too bad, because this is a really great story. The characters are interesting, reading about their adventures was really cool, and I managed to learn something about a Crusade I had no idea existed. There are really unexpected plot twists and I liked the medieval setting. I'd love to somehow see this book updated for a modern audience but I don't think that is usually done. And as Mike pointed out, literature professors would probably be horrified at the suggestion.

More Crusading.

I just finished volume 3 of The Albigenses by Charles Robert Maturin. There is so much going on in these books. This one centered mainly on the female heretic Genevieve. I felt like I got to know her character a lot better. On the other hand, the knight Paladour and the beautiful Lady Isabelle were kind of minimized in this volume. We got to see more of what they were up to through other people's eyes and how they were reacting to them rather than a direct narration. It was different than in the first two volumes.

One thing that was kind of weird is that a new character came in about 2/3 of the way through this book - Queen Ingelberg. It was like all of a sudden the author needed someone for Genevieve to deal with and poof! Here's a queen.

I can't figure out what happened with Paladour and Isabelle and the mystery witch woman. I wonder if I missed it, or if all will be explained in volume 4.

The long Crusade featuring: perfect women!

I am now halfway done with The Albigenses by Charles Robert Maturin. I’ve finished reading volume 2. It is interesting how different volume 2 is from volume 1. There is so much more action! I feel like the plot developed so much more in volume 2, where volume 1 was maybe more about character development. SO much went on in this book.

It’s interesting that both main women characters are portrayed as being pretty much perfect. They are both beautiful, wise, smart, stand up for what they believe in, and have several handsome admirers. The Lady Isabelle even fixes a steely gaze on some bad guys, which intimidates them enough to refrain from doing bad things to her and her attendants! Not a very realistic portrayal. I wonder if they will remain perfect throughout the series or if the next two volumes will humanize them somewhat.

I’m still enjoying this quite a bit, although it isn’t one of the ones I am going around recommending to everyone like The Age of Innocence and Alias Grace. It is pretty long and involved.