Summer Reading List: The Story of a Marriage

"Even a diligent reader will be surprised by the revelations twisting through this novel and will probably turn back to the beginning pages to find the oblique hints hidden in Greer's crystalline prose. In San Francisco in 1953, narrator Pearlie relates the circumstances of her marriage to Holland Cook, her childhood sweetheart. Pearlie's sacrifices for Holland begin when they are teenagers and continue when the two reunite a few years later, marry and have an adored son. The reappearance in Holland's life of his former boss, Buzz Drumer, propels them into a triangular relationship of agonizing decisions. Greer expertly uses his setting as historical and cultural counterpoint to a story that hinges on racial and sexual issues and a climate of fear and repression. Though some readers may find it overly sentimental, this is a sensitive exploration of the secrets hidden even in intimate relationships, a poignant account of people helpless in the throes of passion and an affirmation of the strength of the human spirit" (From Amazon).

Sometimes when I think of this book I like it...sometimes I do not.  It was not the most exciting book on my Summer Reading List....I mean I had a few doozies this Summer (The Alex Cross series, Catch Me If You Can *coming soon*, The GodFather *coming soon*, etc).  It was boring, at times, however it was an ok read. 

I enjoyed that it was in San Francisco....but not in the part I visited last summer.  I enjoyed the time period it was in...but not in what I could relate to from past study.  I enjoyed that it was about a marriage....but not one that I have lived.  I think what I might have enjoyed the most was it had a hint of things I could relate to (except what happens in her marriage) and was different enough to keep part of my attention.

There were a few surprises, to me.  I did not see a few plot twists coming.  If it was not for these little surprises, the boredom I would have suffered would have been unbearable.  This is not your Leave it to Beaver post war, 1950's.  Think more like .... Far From Heaven...but on the other side of the tracks.

It is not a long book...so it has that going for it, too.

I think I would have enjoyed it more if it was more about the husband....but then it would have been an entirely different book.

If you are looking for a different kind of book, set in an interesting time period...I will recommend this one to you.  Oh heck...like I said, it is not a long book, go ahead a read it.

Tiffany

Summer Reading List: Along Came a Spider

I am so far behind on my Summer Reading list REVIEWS...but I am in no way behind on actually reading these books.  I do not have a schedule or a "have to" of books....but I am plowing thru them none the less.  I love to sit at the water park and read while soaking up the sun.  Since I have not felt the desire to go down the slides one after the other, I have plenty of time to do this in between lazy river jaunts, splashing int eh wave pool, going down the few slides I like, and taking lots of photos of the girls doing their "thang".  I also enjoy reading before bed...helps me wind down from the day.



Ok...so without further fanfare....the next book was actually written before my last book and was the first in the Alex Cross series from James Paterson.  It is Along Came a Spider.  I am finding that I really get into these books, I did not think I would...I read Kiss the Girls because I enjoyed the movie.  Now I want to read all of the book in the Alex Cross series...and there are so many and they are all a fast read, so far...just what I need during the summer months.

"A missing little girl named Maggie Rose.

A family of three brutally murdered in the projects of Washington, D.C.

The thrill-killing of a beautiful elementary school teacher.
A psychopathic serial kidnapper/murderer who calls himself the Son of Lindbergh.

He is so terrifying that the FBI, the Secret Service, and the police cannot outsmart him — even after he's been captured.

Gary Soneji is a mild-mannered mathematics teacher at a Washington, D.C., private school for the children of the political and social elite. He's so popular that the kids all call him "Mr. Chips." And he's very, very smart. Growing up, he always knew he was smarter than the rest of them — he knew that the Great Ones always fooled everybody. He kidnaps Maggie Rose, the golden-haired daughter of a famous movie actress, and her best friend, Shrimpie Goldberg, the son of the secretary of the treasury, right out from under the noses of their two Secret Service agents. But Gary Soneji is not surprised at his skill. He's done it before. Hundreds of times before.

Alex Cross is a homicide detective with a Ph.D. in psychology. he looks like Muhammad Ali in his prime. Cross works and lives in the ghettos of D.C. He's a tough guy from a tough part of town who wears Harris Tweed jackets and likes to relax by banging out Gershwin tunes on his baby grand piano. He has two adorable kids of his own. They are his own special vulnerabilities.
Jezzie Flanaganis the first woman ever to hold the highly sensitive job as supervisor of the Secret Service in Washington. Blond, mysterious, seductive, she's got an outer shell that's as tough s it is beautiful. She rides her black BMW motorcycle at speeds of no less than 100 mph. What is she running from? What is her secret?

Alex Cross and Jezzie Flanagan are about to have a forbidden love affair-at the worst possible time for both of them. Because Gary Soneji, who wants to commit the "crime of the century," is playing at the top of his game. The latest of the unspeakable crimes happened in Alex Cross's precinct. They happened under the protection of Jezzie Flanagan's men. Now Soneji is at large again, still wreaking havoc.
Alex Cross must face the ultimate test as a psychologist: how do you outmaneuver a brilliant psychopath? Especially one who appears to have a split personality — one who won't let the other half remember those horrific acts?

Soneji has outsmarted the FBI, the Secret Service, and the police. Who will be his next victim?
Gary Soneji is every parent's worst nightmare. He has become Alex Cross's nightmare. And now, reader, he's about to become yours."  From James Patterson's Official Website

I do not know about this man being MY nightmare but he was rather scary.  He had a motive to kill some (in his own mind) and other he just killed because he could.  He was a fun villain to read about.  If he was real, of course it would not have been fun in any way. shape. or form...but I do enjoy a good villain.  He was not as good as Casanova, however.... 

I get a bit irritated with Alex Cross...sometimes I just do not know why he is "there".  Patterson tries to hurry through an explanation of why Doctor Detective is working these cases but still...I have to just move on and try not to think about it too much. 

What keeps me coming back are the "bad guys" in these books.

I have not seen the movie but will be looking for it.  There is also a movie coming out soon with Tyler Perry as Alex Cross.  That just blows my mind because as I read the books, all I can hear is Morgan Freeman as Alex Cross.  IDK what to think about that just yet but since Cross is a younger man than Morgan Freeman, I guess they have to cast what makes sense...but Tyler Perry?  Why not Will Smith...or Terrence Howard ?  Maybe this movie will not be a big budget or expected to really make a statement?  It will be from a book I have not read called "I, Alex Cross" one quiet far into the series...so I better get off blogger and get to reading...LOL.

I am a bit out of order with the Alex Cross series....I have a list now that I have made, in order, of what comes next.  I will leave this series until I am able to get the right order from the library.  I have read one other and I am afraid I am find out bits and pieces of a book I have skipped...and I want to be surprised as I am reading.  So...since I am leaving this series on the book shelf I have decide to read The Godfather.  OMG..so far I am really liking this and I have a few that I have not reviewed to also share in the meantime.

I hope you are staying cool as the summer winds down.  We were almost at a record, here in Dallas, Texas, for the most days with over 100 degrees...but we missed it by one day.  We had a short break and are now above 100 again...but not as high as it was so no worries...it will cool off soon.

Tiffany

Summer Reading List: Kiss the Girls

Kiss the Girls (2nd Alex Cross Novel) is our next Summer Reading List selection and OH BOY!!!! Was it a doozie. From the very first page I was hooked. I have seen the movie, of course, and loved the characters. Alex Cross was played by Morgan Freeman, and since he is the narrator in most of the book, I heard Morgan Freeman's deep voice as I read. Ashley Judd (one of my favorites...I hope she gets her chance at an Oscar or Golden Globe sometime...I love reading the books that go with her movies) is Kate and her voice is there, too.

Here is the synopsis:

Kiss the Girls  (1995) is a psychological thriller novel by American writer James Patterson, the second to star his recurrent character Alex Cross, an African-American psychologist.

"Kiss the Girls begins in 1975 Boca Raton, Florida where the boy, Casanova, is killing his first four victims. Elsewhere in 1981 Chapel Hill, North Carolina a young Gentleman Caller kills his first two victims.

Present time - Casanova takes a girl to the woods and leaves her to die. He wears a mask for death. An ongoing theme is that Casanova wears a mask to symbolize his mood.

Alex Cross comes home to find his sister, grandmother, and other relatives waiting for him and is informed that his niece, Naomi "Scootchie" Cross a student at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, is missing." (from Wikipedia)

Now Alex Cross is involved. This is where the story gets a bit "out there" so you kind of have to just go with it and not think too much. I really do not know much about how the police and FBI work except what I have seen on Law and Order, CSI, Cold Case, and Without a Trace...but usually on those shows they will not let someone personally involved, like with a relative involved, work a case. But Alex not only works the case, he lives the case....and brings Kate with him.

"In North Carolina Sampson and Cross meet Detectives Nick Ruskin and Davey Sikes who tell Cross that the FBI and DEA are involved and that eight to ten women are missing, all from different states, all have received notes from someone calling himself Casanova.

Casanova picks Kate McTiernan for his next victim and kidnaps her. Kate awakens finding some of her things and Casanova who explains the rules and warns her not to break them. The next time he shows up to be with Kate, she fights back and he knocks her out, afterwards she awakens to find at least six other women locked in rooms near her." (from Wikipedia)

I do not know why I enjoy stories like this...but a mad man holding a bunch of women hostage just drags me in....

Meanwhile..."In Los Angeles, reporter Beth Lieberman is working on a serial killer story about “The Gentleman Caller” who has just raped and murdered a 14-year-old girl. He threatens “bonus kills" to her if his letters are not published. Kyle Craig meets Beth in LA.

Casanova plans to kill Kate because she had broken the rules, but she fights him and gets away. Kate manages to escape, running outside into a forest and jumping off a cliff into the river below. Cross and Ruskin find out she is alive, but she is too injured to speak." (from Wikipedia)

Ok so that is where I will stop with the synopsis...as usually I do not want to give too much away. I think telling you that Kate escapes is not too much of a give-a-way because she is such an important part of the book, however "out there" her involvement in "working the case" might be. I just do not think, in real life, a victim would be going all over the US trying to catch a dangerous killer...but whatever, it makes very good reading.

I think there are parts that just drag on. It is a long book. I enjoyed it and found it very suspenseful, even though I had already seen the movie several times. There are a few parts that I groaned because of the cheesiness or that it was unbelievable, but again...it is entertainment so do not think too much into it.  )It was perfect for a few trips to the water park.  I had my chair set up with fluffy towels and plenty of sun screen and just let the girls (14 year old) do their "thing".)

I would love to pass this book along to someone else to enjoy.  I will draw a name from comments next Friday. (please be in the US). 

Enjoy!!!!

Tiffany

Summer Reading List: Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe

"Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe spent 36 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List. Harper Lee gave a recommendation for the book, saying, "Airplanes and television have removed the Threadgoodes from the Southern scene. Happily for us, Fannie Flagg has preserved a whole community of them in a richly comic, poignant narrative that records the exuberance of their lives, the sadness of their departure. Idgie Threadgoode is a true original: Huckleberry Finn would have tried to marry her!" from Wikipedia

I actually read this book BEFORE the last one I reviews (Welcome to the World Baby Girl) but I skipped reviewing it since I was sure most have read it, heard of it, or seen the movie.  I am really putting it in here as a filler because I am not finished with my current book, Kiss The Girls.  OMG that is a good one...can not wait to tell you all about it.  SO MUCH BETTER than the movie (and I really enjoyed the movie)....ok enough about that...lets talk "Tomatoes".

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe by Fannie Flagg is quiet popular and known because of the movie, Fried Green Tomatoes ,  starring Kathy Bates, Jessica Tandy, Mary Stuary Masterson and Mary-Louise Parker.  While I really liked the movie, after reading the book I rewatched it and found it a bit hoekie.  I enjoyed the book MUCH better.

Here is a brief synopsis:

"The story jumps narration and sequence and is distinctive in chapter-opening visuals to establish the date and the source of the chapter. Some come from the fictional newspaper in Whistle Stop, Alabama called The Weems Weekly. Some come from the Couches' house in Birmingham, and others fill in some of the more intimate details of the stories told about the characters.

The story is told through many generations and begins in 1985 with an unfulfilled housewife named Evelyn Couch, who comes with her husband to visit his elderly mother, who dislikes Evelyn, at Rose Terrace Nursing Home. While avoiding her, Evelyn meets nursing home resident Mrs. "Ninny" Threadgoode, who begins to tell her random stories of her home in Whistle Stop, beginning in the 1920s. Evelyn becomes so interested in the stories of Whistle Stop that her life begins to take new meaning in the characters in Mrs. Threadgoode's history.

Ninny Threadgoode grew up in a bustling house after being adopted by the Threadgoode family and eventually married one of the brothers. Her first love, however, was young Buddy Threadgoode, whose pet of all the children was the youngest girl, Idgie (Imogene). An unrepentant tomboy, Idgie learned her charm from Buddy. Buddy died when a train hit him, and young Idgie was devastated. Nothing civilized her until a few summers later when beautiful and virtuous Ruth Jamison came to live with the family while she taught Vacation Bible School. The family and servants watched with amusement as Idgie fell head over heels in love with Ruth, but when Ruth went home to Georgia to marry a man she was promised to, once more, Idgie drank too much, lived in the woods, and fell apart.

After a few years, Idgie went to check up on Ruth and discovered that her husband, Frank Bennett, was abusing her. When Ruth's mother died of illness soon after, a page torn from the Book of Ruth in the Bible was sent to the Threadgoode house (appropriately Ruth 1:16, "But Ruth said, 'Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.'"), and Idgie, her brother Julian, and Big George (son of the Threadgoode cook, Sipsey) went to Georgia to bring the pregnant Ruth home. Frank resisted, but Ruth came home and promised never to leave Idgie again. Papa Threadgoode gave Idgie money to start a business so that she could care for Ruth and their son. She bought the cafe where Sipsey and her daughter-in-law Onzell cooked, and Big George, married to Onzell, made the best barbecue in Alabama.

Idgie and Ruth raised Ruth's son, and the cafe became known all over the US during The Great Depression through the communication of hobos, especially half-time Whistle Stop resident Smokey Lonesome. It had a reputation for feeding men down on their luck, and Idgie and Ruth got in trouble from local law enforcement when they decided to serve black customers from the back door at lowered prices. It was about this point that Georgia detectives started asking about the suspicious disappearance of Ruth's ex-husband.

Evelyn Couch becomes so entwined in Mrs. Threadgoode's stories that she begins to live them in her mind, and she realizes how purposeless her life has become and how pointless her reasons were for caring about people's opinions while growing up. Overweight and virtually ignored by her husband, Evelyn becomes inspired by Idgie's boldness and audacity and creates an alter-ego named Towanda, a hyper-violent, Amazon-like character who lashes out at people. Made uneasy by how much satisfaction she feels at lashing out, Evelyn confesses to Mrs. Threadgoode what is happening. She gets a job with Mary Kay Cosmetics and, at Mrs. Threadgoode's suggestion, starts to take hormones for menopause.

Prodded on by Evelyn, Ninny resumes her story. For years the cafe ran—through World War II and into the 1950s. Idgie and Ruth's son grew up, and the lives of the town members moved on...." 

I will leave the rest for you to find out by reading this yourselves.  I know you will enjoy it.  Fannie Flagg describes the "times" of the book so well that it is a must read for any vintage loving gal wanting to loose herself in another time.  This one is mostly set in the 1920 - 1930s.   as a matter of fact, Ms. Flagg does such a good job that you might think you can hear a train chug by on a clear night (ok...that was a bit "much" now wasn't it?).

The novel takes on a few important themes, one being Lesbianism.  I remeber my daddy having lots to say about this when the movie came out, and the movie really glossed over it changing the relationship around a bit, ya know cleaning it up for people like my conservative daddy.  The town accepts this relationship which is different than most of the "old southerners" I have known or had contact with (thru books, movies...and life). 

Aging is another theme as Evelyne is going thru menopause and midlife, empty nester boredom and Mrs. Threadgoode, who is 86, is deteriorating and shoing signs of demntia.

Another theme is FOOD.  Food is a HUGE part of this novel.  So much so that there are recipes included in the book as well as an "extra" on the DVD.  Fannie Flagg also put out a cook book, Fannie Flagg's Original Whistle Stop Cafe Cookbook: Featuring : Fried Green Tomatoes, Southern Barbecue, Banana Split Cake, and Many Other Great Recipes.  I do not have this cookbokk but would love a copy to sit on the shelf in my kitchen with the rest of my cookbook collection.

I think theonly down fall to this book is thatI found myself craving lots of yummie foods.  Every time Evelyne goes to visit, she brings a snack.  This gave me a very strong desire for Hostess Snow Balls...and I had a very hard time finding them.  It was not until this very week that I finally looked down on the bottom of a shelf at Albertsons and spotted the much loved pink goodies.

I also had to try my hand at a batch of Fried Green Tomatoes.  I could not find any green tomatoes so I just got some really firm red ones and fried those puppies up....we had them with steak on Saturday night and OH. MY. WORD!!!!!  They were so good.  I used some Tony Chachere's fish fry mix to batter and fried them till golden brown.  YUMMMIE!!!!

I have looked and looked for a photo of my creation but I can not find one and I can not get my camera to upload....I just know that pic ios still on my camera.  Oh boy, they were GOOOOOD!!!!

If you want to read this book, click on any of the links I have provided.  They will take you to Amazon where you will find one on the cheap.  The movie is also available there or head on over to your local Walmart and you will find it in that big box of 5 dollar movies that they have (just saw one in there today).

Enjoy!!!!  I now I did.

Tiffany

Summer Reading List: Welcome to the World, Baby Girl by Fannie Flagg

Welcome to the World, Baby Girl! written by Fannie Flagg.  This is the same lady who wrote an all time favorite, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe: A Novel. This book, however, was no Fried Green Tomatoes.  I am not going to go so far as to say it was a rotten tomato, but ...well...it was not one I can say I "could not put down".

From Publishers Weekly, "Because so much of Flagg's third novel takes place in the 1970s media-celebrity echelons of New York City, it doesn't offer the regional and historical color and texture of its predecessor, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe. Instead, Flagg's achievement here lies in a well-choreographed story of loyalty and survival that zigzags deftly across the post-war years, panning in on the never-changing decency of Elmwood Springs, Mo., then pulling back to watch national TV news devolve into sensationalism?all the while drawing us into the compelling life of Dena Nordstrom. Star of America's most popular morning news show, Dena shuts herself down and shuts men out for painful reasons that are unknown even to her. Only after the stress of ambush- and sound-byte journalism brings on a hemorrhaging ulcer does Dena slowly unearth the scandal that, when Dena was four, drove her mother from Elmwood Springs, hometown of the war hero father that Dena never knew. That her mother's nemesis is a newspaper gossipmonger is nicely ironic, although her mother's secret shame seems slightly larger than life. In contrast, Dena's college friend Sookie and great aunt Elner are reminders of how well Flagg can cook up memorable women from the most down-to-earth ingredients, while a cameo by Tennessee Williams is uncannily true to life. Fans may be sorry at first to leave Elmwood Springs for the big city, but even the most reluctant will get wrapped up in Dena's search for the truth about her family and her past."

I just did not get hooked in enough to CARE about Dena.  I cared about Aunt Elner in Elwood Springs, I enjoyed Neighbor Dorthy, for the short time we got to spend with her.  I could not stand Sookie, or whatever the "best friend's" name was....and I think she gives all of us sorority gals a bad name (we are not all that silly...esp when we are in our 30s). Oh...another character that gave me the willies...Gary, Dena's first shrink who fell in love with her and became a stalker....Flagg tried to make him seem sweet but he comes across to this reader as a freakie stalker and pathetic.  I loved Dena's other Shrink, Dr. Diggers...but we do not see her enough to keep my attention. 

My most favorite character was Dena's mother.  I would LOVE to read a novel about HER.  Her struggles and reasons behind her actions.  I am not going to go too much into that for fear of giving away too much to those who might still want to read this.  When we finally get into all the why's, where's, how's of Dena's mother, it is at the end of the book and so rushed.  We spend chapter after chapter reading about Dena's life as a media sensation and news woman...and how beautiful she is...that the ending is so rushed.

I spend a good deal of the book wondering why certain things were included....it does come full circle in a hurried way but there is so much muck, in the meantime, that I forgot I even cared by the time Flagg gets to it again.

There is one thing that I LOVED....Flagg disposes of a character in the most unique and enjoyable way I have read in a long time.  It was so unexpected.  Not that the character comes to a bad ending, he was bad....but HOW.  It is wonderful.  If you want to read JUST that part, skip to the very last chapter and look for the part about a "storm in NYC".

Welcome to the World, Baby Girl!, spanned quiet a bit of time in a mish mas kind of way, however most of it was set in the late 70's in NYC.  But Flagg fell short in painting a picture of 1970's NYC.  it could have been anytime, with the exception of the references to Dena being one of the only women in the news business, etc.  I would have loved to picture NYC in the late 70's, like there was no mistake of the timeline in Fried Green Tomatoes.  I have not given up on Fannie Flagg, I will read her other books, give her a chance to make it up to me.  I loved Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe so much, I owe it to her.

I will give my copy away to anyone who wants it (the first one to post that they want it gets it)....please be in the US.  Or you can just hop on over to Amazon and get you a copy for a cheap price.

Tiffany

Summer Reading List: Diary of a Mad Housewife

Next on our Summer Reading list is Diary of a Mad Housewife: A Novel by Sue Kaufman.  I enjoyed and disliked this book at the same time.  Here is a little synopsis:

"Tina records in her diary the conditions of her everyday life as a housewife in New York City, with her nagging, climber of a husband Jonathan, and her two girls, aged nine and seven, who so completely take after him that Tina hardly recognizes them as her own. They live in a cavernous apartment on Central Park West that she can barely keep in order. As a form of therapy, Tina begins a secret diary. The self-awareness she gains propels her into a new set of experiences, most notably, an extra-marital affair. She discovers that this man is as hateful as her husband, but she has good sex for the first time since her early married days, and it gets her out of the house one afternoon a week. This sophisticated, entertaining novel casts a cool eye on middle-class mores, the so-called liberation of the 1960s, and the coping mechanisms that often failed the large majority of women who saw themselves and were seen as housewives." from Amazon 

Kaufman's novel came out as the Feminist Movement was getting underway and supposedly "hit a nerve".  Can you imagine living then?  How confusing it must have been.  You might THINK you are happy being a homemaker, mother, and in the feminine sphere of the home...but here are these authors, commentators, etc saying you are not supposed to be happy with JUST that.  Well first of all...you should never be JUST that.  I think you should diversify.  Get a few hobbies, community involvement, your own interests....no need to be JUST one thing, now matter what that may be.  What you "do" should not be the definition of  "who you are".  Of course it is a part of you but not all there is, right?  I love being a homemaker, creating a comfortable environment for my hubbie to come home to.  But there is more to me than that.....with all my multiple personalities...there is LOTS more.  LOL.  I think this was Bettina's downfall.  She really did not have anything of her OWN going on.  She supervised the household, the maid, the cooks and catering, the babysitters and after school activities, the wall washers (really?  Someone came in to wash her walls?)...she really did not do the housework herself, even.  She was bored...and depressed.

The title, "Diary of a Mad Housewife", can go a few ways.  "Mad" can mean CRAZY, it can mean ANGRY, but in my thoughts, with Bettina, it means SAD....DEPRESSED.  Depression can cause havoc on a gal.  SO besides boredom, why else should Bettina be depressed? 

The most obvious is Johnathan, her husband.  A husband should be one who is there for companionship, love, and support.  Of course Johnathan was there for financial support, but that is because he HAD to be as the provider and because he is VERY concerned with what others SEE.  What he was not there for was emotional support.  He was mean, angry, rude, just a plain grade A JERK.  "Jonathan makes it all too clear, as the diary reflects, that he is working to mold Bettina as the perfect wife, hostess, and mother. He earns the money and doles it out to her; he runs her life" from enotes.

Johnathan is a bad character.  Social climber without the social skills or class needed to actually get to that top wrung.  He has a bit of new money, so the "right" people may use him a bit to get their plays produced, art shown, etc etc...but they do not necessarily LIKE him.  They use him and he can not see this...but Bettina can and that causes her to lose respect.  When you can not respect your spouse, that is good way to become depressed with your marriage.  So much more to say about this louse but I, as usual, do not want to give too much away....

Betinna is a mother of 2 young girls, nine and seven.  At one point she realised they are so much like their father that she can not imagine them as her own.  Now I am not a mother....but how sad is that?  Here are two beautiful children that you are raising, that came from your body, and yet you feel no connection with them.  Since they are so much like Johnathan, you can imagine how bratty they are.  The smart things that come from their mouths.  UHG.  I have known some bratty kids in my days, but they have been just everyday normal bratty.  The things these children say to their mother are way beyond their young years...so they are obviously mimicking someone else's behavior (JOHNATHAN?).

Ok, I think I have given you enough to make the decision if you want to read this novel.  It is a short read and gives enough skin crawling thought to keep you interested.  I hope you do read this...you will read about these gross characters as well as quiet a few others, adultery, lavish drunkenness, New York upper middle class entertaining...etc etc.  And it all takes place in the mid 1960's. It gave me such thought of gratitude that I have a supportive and loving husband.  Also, I am grateful to live in a time that I have the freedom to choose what I want to be, thanks to the Feminist Movement, I am sure...but sometimes I wonder if that had to of occurred for my choices?  My Grandmother (who I call "Mawma", Margaret) was my age before this movement and seemed to have choices.  I knew women from the Assisted Living community that lived before the movement and had choices....so while it did help, some were fortunate to have the encouragement and freedom to be who they wanted.  Well that is another post waiting to be thought out...LOL.

There are many other thoughts I have about this book but I just wanted to give a brief review and recommend it for y'all to read.  I really do not like giving the ending of something away and I am always afraid I may do this with my thoughts and reports.

By the way...there was a movie, as well.  I read that it was never released on DVD but you might can snag a VHS copy on Amazon or eBay for a pretty penny.  I would love to see the film and will be looking for it.

Also, I have not found another copy of this to give a way, unfortunately.  They do have it on Amazon, however.

Tiffany

Summer Reading List: Winner of Revolutionary Road Give-a-Way

My oh my...I have been a blog neglector the last few weeks.  When the sun is shining, I want to be in it...getting burned to a crisp, evidently.  Not too bad, actually...I have been caking on the sunscreen that is made for a baby's bottom.  I usually am quiet tan by now since I have had a Palm Beach Tan membership since BIRTH...ha ha not really but for a very long time.  I gave my membership up since I had skipped so many sessions and this year I am starting from scratch with the tan.  I know...I know...get on with it Girlie Girl.  We did NOT come here to read about your lack of summer glow so far.

SO without further ado....ATOMIC MAMA will be receiving a copy of Revolutionary Road.  Please send me your mailing addy and I will get that out with my next trip to the PO.

And incase you missed my thoughts on the book...just hop on over to the post.  I see my thoughts are not the in line with most, but I am who I am....and most think I have a very backwards old fashioned or just plain MESSED up since of what is what...we will talk more on that when I post about living a Fascinating Womanhood (Helen B Andelin)...but that needs to wait until I can give it a good go...and to do that I need to re-read the book and make sure I get everything nice and flipped around.  LOL.

Another reason I have been so neglectful of the blog is my "Summer Reading List".  I have been plowing thru books and now need to fight to keep up with posting about them. 

The next book on the list is .... Diary of a Mad Housewife: A Novel.  I hope to get this posted this weekend, if not sooner.

Tiffany

Summer Reading List: Revolutionary Road (and a copy to Give-a-Way)

Revolutionary Road  by Richard Yates

"April and Frank Wheeler are a young, ostensibly thriving couple living with their two children in a prosperous Connecticut suburb in the mid-1950s. However, like the characters in John Updike's similarly themed Couples, the self-assured exterior masks a creeping frustration at their inability to feel fulfilled in their relationships or careers. Frank is mired in a well-paying but boring office job and April is a housewife still mourning the demise of her hoped-for acting career. Determined to identify themselves as superior to the mediocre sprawl of suburbanites who surround them, they decide to move to France where they will be better able to develop their true artistic sensibilities, free of the consumerist demands of capitalist America. As their relationship deteriorates into an endless cycle of squabbling, jealousy and recriminations, their trip and their dreams of self-fulfillment are thrown into jeopardy." (synopsis from GoodReads.com)

I always search the book section of thrift stores, when collecting things for my Etsy and Ebay listings, and when I spotted Revolutionary Road I was reminded that I enjoyed the movie, so I picked it up.  I like to idealise things and that is what I did when thinking I would enjoy this book.  I forgot that the one of the main characters, April, disgusted me.  I remembered that the movie was based in one of my favorite times in history, 1950s.  I remembered that it dealt with a young actress turned housewife and thought I might identify with April ( I studied and worked as an actress and am now a housewife)....but I forgot she is NOTHING like me.  She is a sad SAD S A D woman.  A shell of a human who feels sorry for herself and went into a marriage and became a mother when she had no business doing so.  I hate that one of my favorite actresses played her in the movie because it is hard to remember I did not like her...funny since I seem to have such a strong opinion of April....but Kate Winslet is such a good and attractive actress.  Maybe I am being hard on April because she is obviously depressed and emotionally sick.  But it is easier to just not like her and since reading is supposed to be something I do to relax, it should be easy.  However this book is not easy, it is a very "thinking" book (you know a book that makes you THINK even after you are long done with it).

So maybe Frank is not such a good guy...he is pompous and a bit self involved....but he did not do, what I consider, a terrible thing in the end....so he gets away with being an arrogant 1950's man (sometimes brute).  And besides Leonardo DiCaprio plays him in the movies and I loves me some Leo.  I am not excusing this character but .... well it is what it is in my mind. ~shrug~

Besides the drama of the book, it is set in the 1950s.  Frank and April live in a typical suburban neighborhood, Frank commutes to New York for his job.  Frank is an up and comer despite he is bored with his job and life...and really does nothing at work.  He does enough in the "eleventh hour" to get noticed.  Frank takes long Martini lunches and has an affair with a secretary. The Wheelers have cocktails with other suburban couples and try to be involved with their community and cultural events.  April tried to make an effort and dresses in pretty dresses and frilly aprons at times.  The movie is pretty on the surface and the book describes a nice "scene"....but that is only surface.  Richard Yates paints a nice picture....and then we get into trouble because we might not expect such ugliness in his characters.

So....if you would like to read this book, even after all this...just leave a comment and I will draw a name.

Tiffany