Saturday, May 31, 2014

Blame

My book club chose Blame by Michelle Huneven for its May selection.  It is an intense character study of a woman who must deal with the consequences of an unimaginable act. History professor Patsy MacLemoore wakes up in jail, again, after a long night of drinking with no memory of what has happened. Police officers inform her that she hit and killed a mother and daughter in her own driveway while driving with a revoked license. She is consumed by guilt and eventually pleads guilty to the charges and goes to prison for several years. While there, she joins AA and gets sober to show the victim's husband how remorseful she feels. Once released, she is determined to be "good" in an attempt to assuage her guilt.  She gives much of her salary to the victim's son to pay for college and law school, volunteers at an AIDS hospice, and marries a much older man, whom she meets at an AA meeting, because he is "safe." Twenty years later she is a caretaker to an elderly husband, with whom she has nothing in common, and is forced to share her home with a rotating group of AA members being "saved" by her husband and his grown children and grandchildren, who are always in crisis.  She is obviously unhappy but feels she deserves to be so, even rejecting a chance at happiness with a colleague who sweeps her off her feet.  Out of the blue, Patsy receives new information about the accident which calls into question her culpability. This changes everything she believes about herself and sends her reeling. The story builds very slowly (I was especially struck by the minutiae of daily life in prison) but Huneven takes us deep within Patsy's psyche and we come to understand her pain intimately.  In fact, the whole strength of the book comes from all of the memorable and well-developed characters rather than from the story itself.  The plot twist requires the suspension of disbelief and the ending is a bit too ambiguous for me. However, I recommend this book because I really love the theme of redemption. Sometimes the hardest person to forgive is yourself.

Note:  Huneven does not use quotation marks for dialogue. I really hate this trend in contemporary literature because, in my opinion, it makes reading unnecessarily difficult. There were many times when I found myself re-reading passages because they didn't make sense, only to discover that they contained direct quotes.

Friday, May 30, 2014

Memphis

Last night I saw the Broadway touring production of Memphis.  I didn't know much about it except that it won the Tony for Best Musical in 2010.  Of course, it was absolutely amazing and deserving of the Tony, as well as every other accolade heaped upon it.  Really, how could a musical co-written by a member of Bon Jovi be anything but amazing?  Huey Calhoun wanders into a "colored" club when he hears Felicia singing and promises to make her famous in Memphis.  He cons his way on to the radio, and eventually television, by promoting Felicia and the music he hears at the club.  When Huey and Felicia fall in love, which is frowned upon in 1950s Memphis, the couple is physically assaulted.  Felicia, tired of hiding the relationship, wants them to move north and auditions for a record company in New York.  Can Huey leave Memphis behind?  Can he relinquish control over the star he "discovered?"  Joey Elrose is hilarious as the irrepressible Huey and I especially loved his stirring performances in "The Music of My Soul" and the heart-felt "Memphis Lives in Me."  Jasmin Richardson has an incredibly powerful voice as Felicia and just about blew the roof off the Capitol Theatre in "Colored Woman."  The ensemble cast is extremely talented and the big song-and-dance numbers are a lot of fun to watch.  I still have "Someday," the song Felicia sings live on the radio complete with a band and backup singers, stuck in my head.  This story has a very powerful message about prejudice but it was sometimes difficult to hear the many racial epithets throughout the show and the ending was not what I was expecting.  However, I was practically dancing in my seat and I definitely enjoyed it.  I highly recommend seeing Memphis if you have the opportunity.  It continues through June 1 at the Capitol Theatre.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

X-Men: Days of Future Past

I have been a big fan of the X-Men movies, to varying degrees, for years so I was really excited to see the latest installment last night.  My favorite in the franchise is definitely X-Men: First Class because it completely embodies the mod style of the sixties (it reminded me of an early James Bond movie) and I loved the chemistry between Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik Lensherr (Michael Fassbender).  Most of X-Men: Days of Future Past takes place in the past so everything I loved about X-Men: First Class is continued.  It begins in a dystopian future where robots, called Sentinels, have virtually exterminated all mutants.  Professor X and Magneto send Wolverine's consciousness back to his younger self to convince the younger Xavier and Lensherr to cooperate in the hopes of preventing the war.  Instead of the Bay of Pigs invasion of the sixties, this movie revolves around the Paris peace talks ending the Vietnam War in the seventies.  Once again, the style of this film is spot on for the iconic seventies.  Bell bottom jeans, leather jackets with wide lapels, corduroy pants, three-piece suits, crop tops, wide ties, shaggy hair, and over-sized Aviator sunglasses all make an appearance.  McAvoy and Fassbender reprise their roles brilliantly as friends who have had a falling out and don't quite trust each other any more (I loved the chess scene).  The special effects are amazing, especially when the mutants battle the Sentinels simultaneously in the seventies and in the future, but I enjoyed the storytelling as well.  In my opinion, X-Men: Days of Future Past is the most entertaining film in the franchise.  I highly recommend it, particularly if you enjoyed X-Men: First Class.

Note:  I honestly do not know who I like better: McAvoy with his long hair and scruffy beard (I've been a fan since I saw him in The Last King of Scotland) or Fassbender in an ascot.  An ascot, I tell you!

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Memorial Day Weekend 2014

Memorial Day weekend is the official start to summer so, of course, my family went on a camping trip.  This year we took the motor home to the KOA campground in Fillmore and it was absolutely wonderful!  The weather was simply gorgeous (sunny with a little bit of a breeze) and I especially loved the smell of the Russian olive trees (Marilyn, who suffers from allergies, did not) and the sound of birds chirping.  So relaxing!  We spent most of our time sitting in our camp chairs reading and talking in front of the fire.  We spent the rest of our time eating!  We had quite a few dutch oven meals and we also made tin foil dinners.  Everything was delicious.  I always think food tastes so much better outside.  I have really come to enjoy the RV lifestyle because the people that we meet are always so friendly and laid back.  It is always nice to get away from the stress of daily life to relax and appreciate nature.  I am definitely looking forward to more camping trips this summer.  I hope everyone had a enjoyable long weekend with friends and family!

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Alpine Europe

I love mountains so a trip through the Alpine region of Switzerland, France, Italy, Austria, and Germany in 2009 was a must.  The scenery was absolutely spectacular!  Here are some highlights.
Lowendenkmal (Lion Monument), Lucerne, Switzerland
Kapellbrucke, Lucerne, Switzerland
Church of St. Leodegar, Lucerne, Switzerland
Views from Mt. Pilatus, Lucerne, Switzerland
Grossmunster, Zurich, Switzerland
Inside the Grossmunster, Zurich, Switzerland
Bern, Switzerland
Chateau de Chillon, Montreux, Swizerland
Olympics Museum, Geneva, Switzerland
Floral Clock, Geneva, Switzerland
Jet d'Eau, Geneva, Switzerland
Annecy, France
Lake Annecy, France
Mt. Blanc, Chamonix, France
Lake Como, Italy (Alas, no George Clooney sightings)
Lake Como, Italy
Villa Carlotta, Lake Como, Italy
The Bernina Express from Zermatt to St. Moritz, Switzerland
Innsbruck, Austria
Goldenes Dachl (Golden Roof), Innsbruck, Austria
Innsbruck Cathedral, Innsbruck, Austria
Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria, Germany
Hohenschwangau Castle, Bavaria, Germany
Linderhof Palace, Bavaria, Germany
Oberammergauer, Bavaria, Germany
Marienplatz, Munich, Germany
The famous Glockenspiel, Munich, Germany
Hofbrauhaus, Munich, Germany
Nymphenberg Palace, Munich, Bermany
My group enjoying our last night in Germany at a Beer Garden in Munich.  Prost!
One final picture:  my favorite view from St. Moritz.  I hiked a really long way to get this shot but I love the trees, the lake, and the mountains.  It was a beautiful trip full of lots of trees, lakes, and mountains and I certainly enjoyed it!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...