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Saturday Books
Apr. 7th, 2012 02:59 pmI keep meaning to say that I did finish Somerset Maugham's The Razor's Edge, and I did like it (although there were a few pages toward the end I did just skim because they were blathering on about Vedanta and self-realization and philosophy and I'm sorry Somerset but it just wasn't ADVANCING THE STORY). Anyway. What was more disquieting was the casual anti-Semitism (lines like "I bought the painting off an old Jew," with the distinct whiff that old Jews are not the kind of company the better class keep), and the narrator's noting that one of the main characters was "fat" as a teenager. It's not just a one-time thing, either -- it's mentioned more than once, and just seems a very strange attribute to fixate on. Still worth reading, though -- that whole America-between-the-wars and Americans-in-Europe trope is endlessly fascinating to me. Also have picked up a copy of Selina Hastings' The Secret Lives of Somerset Maugham to explore his mystery.
Have been reading Richard Zacks' Island of Vice, about Teddy Roosevelt's attempt to clean up New York's saloons and houses of prostitution in the 1890s (when he was police commissioner). Great fun, especially for paragraphs like this one:
Lillie Clifton made a fine star prosecution witness, with an extraordinary memory for dialogue that occurred while drinking immense quantities of alcohol. Elegantly dressed in a fur-trimmed dress, with a stylish two-plumed black hat, she testified for four hours behind a white beaded veil. She walked the jury through the entire sting, and was unshakable even during a brutal cross-examination that detailed how she lived off the sins of other women, how she had profited from adultery. "You are a BAD woman, are you not?" defense lawyer Jerome abruptly shouted at her at one point. She replied calmly, "No, not altogether." Throughout the trial, she seemed to be carrying on a flirtation with the jury foreman.
Also I am happy because my copy of Jeanette Winterson's newest book -- Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? arrived yesterday. Winterson is one of my favorite writers, and I am so looking forward to reading this bit of autobiography.
But now I must do some house cleaning. Hope everyone is having a good weekend!
Have been reading Richard Zacks' Island of Vice, about Teddy Roosevelt's attempt to clean up New York's saloons and houses of prostitution in the 1890s (when he was police commissioner). Great fun, especially for paragraphs like this one:
Lillie Clifton made a fine star prosecution witness, with an extraordinary memory for dialogue that occurred while drinking immense quantities of alcohol. Elegantly dressed in a fur-trimmed dress, with a stylish two-plumed black hat, she testified for four hours behind a white beaded veil. She walked the jury through the entire sting, and was unshakable even during a brutal cross-examination that detailed how she lived off the sins of other women, how she had profited from adultery. "You are a BAD woman, are you not?" defense lawyer Jerome abruptly shouted at her at one point. She replied calmly, "No, not altogether." Throughout the trial, she seemed to be carrying on a flirtation with the jury foreman.
Also I am happy because my copy of Jeanette Winterson's newest book -- Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? arrived yesterday. Winterson is one of my favorite writers, and I am so looking forward to reading this bit of autobiography.
But now I must do some house cleaning. Hope everyone is having a good weekend!