The Calliope Experiment-The Shock Wall

To learn more about The Calliope Experiment go here. See next week's picture here.

The Shock Wall

Though Molly had lived just four blocks from the ocean for the last five years, the sight of it still filled her with awe. It was so massive. Looking out at the horizon it was very easy to imagine it stretching to eternity. She would sit in the wet sand where the water could glide right up to her toes and stare at the line of darker blue that divided the water from the heavens above. Whole hours could slip by unnoticed while she watched a sailboat wonder farther and farther away from land, its base slowly disappearing, then its sail, proof that the world was in fact round. Yet she never felt that her time was wasted by such observations. How could any time be a waste that was spent in such peaceful endeavors?

On this particular day Molly had more important things to do than to give sailboats a proper sending off. Her little nephew must be shown around, made familiar with the more important things in life: seashell collecting, sandcastle construction and seagull chasing. He must study a strand of seaweed. He must watch carefully as the little critters that lived in the wet sand blew air bubbles out of their cozy little burrows.

“So where should we start Zack? What shall we do first?”

“I want to see doz big rocks over dere.” Zack pointed a perfect little miniature finger toward the black cliffs to the south.

“Then let’s go.”

As they marched along Molly quietly sang the alphabet song, as if to herself. Zack would run ahead, then stop to poke at a clam shell, then chase a bird and squeal with delight as it took flight, circled overhead and landed again ten feet away. The sand felt cool under their feet. Summer had not yet arrived in all its blazing glory. It was still the middle of April. They were lucky that the rain clouds had cleared away earlier in the week.

As they neared the cliff face Zack picked up a glittery white rock. “Let’s make a wall to keep out da shocks,” he said.

“Good idea. We wouldn’t want those nice sharks to hurt themselves against these unfriendly rocks.” Zack gave her his best smile, the one with the dimple, and giggled at her. Molly started gathering white rocks, piling them up for him near the waters edge. If a rock was too heavy to pick up Zack rolled it where he wanted it to be, lining them up next to each other. When a wave would crash against the cliffs, sending its cold spray over them, Zack would give a squeal and hug himself, dancing on his tiptoes. The wall was complete when the white rocks were all used up.

They stood back to appreciate their work. It was beautiful; the zigzags imitating the ocean waves. Up and down and up and down.

“Well I think we need a big lunch after our day of construction, don’t you?” Molly said with hands on hips. “How about Clam Chowder with fish crackers?”

Zack beamed. “But no shocks cause dey’re nice shocks here.”

Review: The Namesake

The Namesake
by Jhumpa Lahiri

This is one of those books that I feel inadequate to review properly. I could never do it justice. Fortunately most of the book blog world already knows about this book and its greatness so my review can be brief.

Gogol Ganguli is the namesake but the book encompasses more than just his story as a confused Indian/American trying to find his place. It is just as much about his parents and their struggle as Bengali immigrants in America and how the two generations scrape against each other, never able to understand each other.

I appreciated the details that authenticated life for each character. To know everything that actually takes place, even those things that no one witnesses, even the deep down feels of self-doubt and regret that no one shares. While the story is about the inability of immigrants to really fit it, it could just as easily fit as a description for anyone who ever felt different; in other words everybody everywhere. None of us truly appreciates where we came from and none of us really feels totally like we fit in in the world around us. I think that is where the beauty of this story lies. You are the namesake and so am I.

Review: The Wednesday Sisters

The Wednesday Sisters
by Meg Waite Clayton

A group of five women meeting at the park form a writing group to encourage each other in their dreams. Through their writing and their friendship they learn about themselves and each other as the world around them changes during the turbulent 60s and 70s.

I am going to be a dissenting voice in a crowd of admirers. I didn't care for it. I can see the skeleton of a pleasant summer read but it is padded with too many rough edges for my enjoyment. From unsympathetic characters, to too swift changes in point of view, to chunky transitions between past and present, this novel is not smooth reading. It presents like a second draft: still in need of work.

But it's not wholly without merit. Clearly many women love the idea of women writers encouraging each other. How many bloggers are there that have secret and not so secret ambitions of becoming published writers? There is definitely an audience for this type of book. It could be seen as the spark that sets writing group in motion. And there were a few elements that kept this reader curious, though the results were always disappointingly predictable.

Overall, I would not have bothered to finish The Wednesday Sisters if I wasn't obliged to review it. It wasn't a bad read it just didn't capture my imagination or sympathies.

Review: The Woman Who Wouldn't

The Woman Who Wouldn't
by Gene Wilder

Set in 1903, concert violinist Jeremy Webb has a nervous breakdown while performing with the Cleveland Orchestra. While recovering in Germany he meets Clara Mulpas, a very sick woman of whom he begins to have feelings for. But what is wrong with Jeremy? And what does he really feel for Clara?

This little novella is written in a minimalist style, very sparse, very direct. It deals with a serious topic in a light and playful manner. It does not involve too many emotions beyond curiosity which works surprisingly well. It's exactly the type of book I would expect from Gene Wilder.

The Classics Challenge and Meme

Trish's Classics Challenge has been making the rounds. I'm glad to be joined by so many of my blog friends in enjoying my favorite type of literature. So here is my list and meme:

1. Villette by Charlotte Bronte


2. Cranford by George Eliot


3. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott


4. The Awakening by Kate Chopin


5. Macbeth by William Shakespeare

For my modern classic I've chosen

1. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

The Meme

1. My favorite classic is Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton.

2. The classic I had the toughest time finishing is Anna Karenina and Moby Dick.

3. I would recommend Silas Marner to someone who doesn't read a lot of classics or who doesn't generally like classics because it's a shorter example of what a classic can be. The metaphors are clear and it has a happy ending.
4. To me, a classic book is a work of art, either because of what it had to say about its time in history or because what it has to say transcends its time in history.

5. The type of relationship I have with classics is one of affection and admiration. I don't love every classic I've read but I love that they are a part of real history. I have come to appreciate history through the classics.

The Sunday Salon

A little of this, a little of that. That is how my day was spent. A bit of church, a little nap, some time to read and a visit with friends. Very relaxing.

After finishing The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton last night I was anxious to start the tiny book I found at the library on Friday. The Woman Who Wouldn't by Gene Wilder. That's right, the original Willy Wonka is an author. The book is only about 5x7 in size and 165 pages. The writing is very spare and clean which keeps the story moving along at a good pace. I cannot help but envision Gene Wilder as the main character because it is so much like a movie he would have starred in. At least so far. I think my Memorial Day will be pleasant with Mr. Wilder around.

What are you reading this holiday weekend?

Through a Moonlit Window

Jacquie at Calliope's Coffee House has come up with a brilliant new challenge called The Calliope Experiment. She will post a picture on Saturday to inspire the imagination. Then the participants have a week to write a 500 word story to go with the picture. You can go here for more details, and go here for this week's picture.

May I now present my story:

Through a Moonlit Window

She slowly came back to consciousness from that hazy place called Dreamland, where an indefinable image still rested like a mist in her peripheral vision. She lay there a minute longer trying to recapture it and bring it back to a place of recognition but it was too dim, too far gone. Perhaps she didn’t really want to retrieve it. There was a slight residue of fear in her mind. Maybe it was another one of those frightful nightmares that her subconscious was so keen on concocting for her. She wondered why she was so prone to nightmares. She wondered why she dreamed at all.

She realized that it was no use trying to remember. She was too awake now, lying there under her pink floral comforter on the top bunk of the bed she shared with her sister. Celia was probably enjoying some adventure that involved dog sleds in Antarctica or chasing pirates in hopes of a sword fight Peter Pan style. Celia was like that, always active, always doing something interesting. Abby longed to do things too, just not the same kinds of things as Celia. Abby dreamed of being a dancer, a poet, a mother. She had quiet aspirations that usually involved a small but loyal array of admirers.

As she turned over in bed she looked toward the room’s one large window where could be seen a bright shining moon, clouds gliding past, moving swiftly in front and behind. It had been raining most of the day but it appeared to be clearing now. Her eyes wandered around the room looking for something that would lull her back to sleep. There was a box full of dolls and Barbies in the corner, a drafting table she had received last Christmas that was covered in drawings and colored pencils. There was the closet where Celia hid her Halloween candy so she could eat it slowly throughout the year. Abby’s was usually gone within a week.

Her eyes finally rested on the old Queen Ann dresser. In the mirror above was an image that didn't belong. Her heart froze. After a full minute it resumed its beating but with twice its strength and at three times its usual pace. A woman in a gauzy white gown was floating next to the bed. Abby could see no feet, just a smoky hem rippling as if in a summer breeze. The woman’s hair too was wisping around her shoulders. She was looking down toward her hands where rested a large book whose pages were turning of their own accord. But what truly frightened Abby was not the woman’s presence but her lack of presence. There was no lady in the room but there she was in the reflection in the glass. Abby closed her eyes tight to clear her sight but upon reopening them she saw the woman still, seemingly inches from her head.

As the blood drained from her veins Abby became cold as steel and heavy as lead. She lay still, unable to call out or even to think clearly as the ghostly lady’s eyes met her own in the mirror. In a lilting voice she spoke five little words. “You are in the book.”

Review: A Wonder Book

A Wonder Book
by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne is best known for The Scarlet Letter but he also wrote a few children's storybooks, A Wonder Book for Boys and Girls being one of them, followed shortly afterward by the more popularly known Tanglewood Tales.

A Wonder Book is the story of a young man and the stories he recreates for the group of children in his charge. But really it is about the Greek myths that he uses his vivid imagination on. Each of the 6 myths are sandwiched between descriptions of when and where Eustace Bright is tell them, on the porch at Tanglewood, near Shadow Brook, on a mountaintop, etc. Hawthorne can give some very charming descriptions such as this one:

The Little brook ran along over its pathway of gold, here pausing to form a
pool, in which minnows were darting to and fro; and then it hurried onward at a
swifter pace as if in haste to reach the lake; and, forgetting to look whither
it went, it tumbled over the root of a tree, which stretched quite across its
current. You would have laughed to hear how noisily it babbled about this
accident. And even after it had run onward, the brook still kept smitten,
I suppose, at finding its dark dell so illuminated, and at hearing the prattle
and merriment of so many children. So it stole away as quickly as it
could, and hid itself in the lake.

Not all of the descriptions are this much fun; in fact, most are pretty verbose, but then he hints at his great admiration of Washington Irving. If you have ever read Rip Van Winkle then you know just what I am talking about.

While I did not find this the best book of mythology for reading aloud to my children I will say that it is a great source of vocabulary. My kindergartner did not understand every word but he certainly wanted more each day. I found it charming and will be seeking out Tanglewood Tales for summer reading.

Garden Fare

Last year I managed to grow one very tiny tomato from among four tomato plants. This year, with the help of friends and a sprinkler system, I will be feasting for weeks. Such a small accomplishment but it brings me such satisfaction.

Review: The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio

The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio
by Terry Ryan

I'm not sure this book would be considered a memoir or not. What it is is the story of the author's mother and her unflinching spirit, her tenacious talent in the face of poverty and hardships. Evelyn Ryan was a contester, a woman who used her language skills to create clever slogans for contest products to win prizes and money to keep her large family afloat. With 10 children and an alcoholic husband, this was no small job. What Mrs. Ryan never did was despair. She never lost hope that a solution could be found to whatever problem came up, whether it was paying for groceries, doctors' bills, or a house. You can't read this book and think that Mrs. Ryan was just a lucky lady. She put hours of effort into her jingles and poems, making them concise and humorous or dramatic, whatever the case called for.

It certainly was a good read and very funny. I laughed out loud more times than I can remember, something that I don't usually do. There is also drama as the family must deal with the alcoholic Mr. Ryan who drank away almost half of his meager salary each week and was abusive when drunk. I don't think the audience hears everything there is to know about this man but then that's not the focus of the book. Mr. Ryan is included only to show from what dire straights Mrs. Ryan had to work against. But, there is enough of his presence that if you have a painful history with dealing with an alcoholic then you may consider skipping this one.

To compare the book with the movie is to have a lot to talk about. They contain a lot of the same wording and experiences but not in the same way. Many of the stories from the book were merged together to make one big scene in the movie. The movie Mrs. Ryan is much exaggerated in her perkiness and positive outlook, so much so as to be plastic and unrealistic. The real Mrs. Ryan did get angry and impatient once in a while but she never quit. She knew that if she didn't do the hard work her family would come apart.

I like both the movie and the book but they are different in too many ways. The book is inspirational because of Mrs. Ryan's ingenuity and fighter's spirit. The movie is fun and dramatic and emphasizes the importance of looking on the bright side and having compassion and forgiveness. And, let me just add that I first thought Woody Haroldson was a poor choice to play the father but after seeing the movie twice now I see that he was just right. He brings out a pathetic and browbeaten quality with a touch of humor allowing the audience to forgive him just as Mrs. Ryan and Tuffy forgive him.

The Wind-Up Book Chronicle

Michelle comes up with such interesting challenges. I simply can't resist. This time it's the Wind-Up Book Chronicle. The idea is to finish reading any books you had previously put aside. There are a few rules so you'll want to follow the link to get the lowdown.

Originally I thought of a book or two but then my list grew and grew. I have narrowed it down to three:

1. The Story Girl by L.M. Montgomery - I found this one boring so I shelved it about two years ago. Hopefully the last 80 pages won't be as bad.
2. How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster - this one fell victim to my aversion to non-fiction. I really liked it but I stopped halfway through because it was taking a lot of effort.
3. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke - This chunkster has almost 500 pages still to go. It's a challenge book that I am determined to conquer, even if it kills me in the end.

Weekly Geeks 3: Memory Lane

This week's Weekly Geeks challenge is to write about influential books from your childhood. I am adding a little spin on things by writing about those books that stuck with me but that I can't remember their titles. If you can help me out with the title I will send you a book from my Paperback Swap queue.

Book 1
About the same time that I was reading Little Bear, I owned another bear book that gave me many hours of pleasure. I believe the bear family was full of many bear cubs, including twins named Flora and Dora. The bear cubs wandered through the forest but I don't recall where they were headed to. I just remember those twin bears because I was fascinated by their names. Don't ask why.

UPDATE: Tammy from Tammy's Book Nook solved this mystery for me. Fourteen Bears: Summer and Winter. I believe that is Flora and Dora on the right in matching blue snowsuits. I'll be ordering a copy of this book soon. Tammy, check out my PBS queue and let me know what I can send you.

Book 2
In 7th grade my teacher read several books aloud to us, like Animal Farm. One such book was about a young man who was being hunted in the desert. The predator shot at him with a pistol, the bullet going clean through the young man's wrist. When the young man finally made it to civilization, the investigators didn't believe him, saying he could have shot himself in the wrist. I just can't think why they thought he would have wanted to do such a thing. I remember being shocked that they didn't believe the man and instead accused him of foul play. That may have been the first time I was aware of injustice.

Book 3
Another book read by my 7th grade teacher was about a teenage girl who was struggling to fit in in school. At one point she and her friend try to dye their hair black. The hair dye is really thick and lumpy and it ends up turning her hair green, or something like that. When the girl's father sees what she's done he tells her, "No more hair-brained ideas." My teacher read this sentence twice, at the end of one reading and the beginning of the next, with the same "Oh Brother" tone in her voice. That was the only scene that stuck in my mind. (I usually spent this time writing notes to my friends or drawing pictures, bored bored bored.)

BTW, a while ago I wrote about the first book I read all the way through and what effect it had on me: Charlotte's Web.

So those are just a few of the memorable, or unmemorable, as the case may be, books from my childhood. Let's see what kinds of titles y'all can come up with.

6 Random Things About Meme

I was tagged but kept putting it off. I've read several other Random Things from all over but I waited. But now it is time before Susie at The Stuffed Shelf starts to worry that I'm unhappy about being tagged. I'm not; I'm just lazy.

1. I take on the speech patterns of those around me. I spoke with a lisp in high school because my best friend did. When my sister visits from Texas I pick up her accent. It's kind of embarrassing.
2. I got my ears pierced for my 7th or 8th birthday. It was so painful to have the first one done that I freaked out about the second ear. Because I wouldn't sit still the second ear was pierced crooked.
3. My home state is California but Washington is the home of my heart. We lived there for only one year but it was the best year of my life.
4. I have extremely bizarre and frightening dreams on a regular basis. It's a trait that runs in my family.
5. I like to wear makeup but I rarely wear lipstick. I think it looks funny on me.
6. Since I learned you can watch all the past and current seasons of Lost on abc.go.com I am totally addicted. And I'm now a big fan of Dancing with the Stars. I'm pulling for Jason to win. I wish they would run the past seasons of Dancing.

If you're interested, I did an 8 Random Things meme last year.

Movie Review: Persuasion

I received as a Mother's Day gift the new Masterpiece DVD set that includes Persuasion, Sense and Sensibility, and Miss Austen Regrets. Having read Persuasion for book group a couple of months ago, then rewatching the Hinds/Root movie version, the storyline is rather fresh in my mind. Yesterday, after a day of shopping with the Theologian, we watched this new movie version, and found it lacking as many of you did.

First of all, they missed the true character of Anne Elliot. This Anne was a witless wallflower. She displays none of the qualities for which Capt. Wentworth admires. The book tells of an Anne who is of such intelligence, integrity and compassion that Capt. Wentworth falls in love with her all over again despite his hurt feelings and resolve against her. But this Anne has no strength of character. She comes off as a doormat. Her few attempts at using her head are hesitant and easily go unappreciated.

Secondly, the camera work was disorienting and disconcerting. The cameraman follows or leads the actors in many the scenes, in a Blair Witch type fashion. This was completely out of place considering the context of the story. I really hope the rest of the movies don't follow this style.

Thirdly, the movie was way too short but it was made shorter by long stretches where nothing in particular is going on, like the numerous times that Anne stares into the camera. I assume this is supposed to give you a feeling of intimacy with Anne in what she must endure but it only serves to waste valuable time. How much was lost in character and/or plot development to these silent periods! My husband, who hasn't read the book, asked many times for clarification or an outright, "What just happened?" This was a bad move.

And now onto the biggy; why did they have to cut and piece the story like a quilt? When will the movie-makers that be learn that when making an adaptation of a well loved book they would do better to stick to the story in the book? Now I'm not a purist. I understand that there are just some things that don't translate well from the written word to a visual form; so make appropriate changes. Atonement is the perfect example of a well made adaptation that included a touch of revising. And sometimes enough changes take place as to recreate a story into something better, like the Notebook. But when you are a production company that only makes adaptations for a small, focused audience, like Masterpiece with these Austen remakes, then you really ought to stick closely to the original. Their entire audience is made up of Austen enthusiasts. This is not the forum for experimental revisioning. If this is the quality of the work that we should expect from Masterpiece then most of us are just going to look elsewhere.

But.....I do have something nice to say after all that steam. There are a few places here and there where the story is told with more accuracy than in other movie versions. They did a much clearer job of showing why Capt. Wentworth seems to be hot and cold about Anne near the end, explaining his jealousy and uncertainty about how Anne is situated with Mr. Elliot. Also, Anne's close friend Lady Russell is portrayed in a much better light. She doesn't seem dead set against Capt. Wentworth just because she thought him an unsuitable match 8 years earlier. In this new version she just doesn't know about Anne's and Wentworth's growing attraction because she is taken in by the gossip about Mr. Elliot and the exciting idea that Anne could become the mistress of Kellynch Hall. It was the first time I understood her and thought her worthy of Anne's good opinion.

Overall, I found the production a disappointment but I had heard as much from so many of you out there so it was not a total surprise. I am comforted to know that most people thought the rest of the movies were better than this one.

BTT-Manual Labor

Writing guides, grammar books, punctuation how-tos . . . do you read them? Not read them? How many writing books, grammar books, dictionaries–if any–do you have in your library?

In elementary school, my favorite subject, that I earned consistently good grades in, was English, which really meant Grammar. But as I teach my own children how to write properly, and as I write in this public forum regularly, I come to realize just how lousy my early education was in this area.

I cannot say that I read writing and grammar manuals but I have been collecting them for the last year. Besides the dictionary which I use monthly, not to mention Dictionary.com which is a weekly stop, I have glanced through only one manual so far but I keep picking them up and setting them in my reading area for the right moment. I hope to participate in the NaNoWriMo again this year but this time I'm going to complete the challenge so I need to prepare as much as I can. Maybe I will make it my summer reading goal to get through 2-3 of these books while lounging by the pool. These are the titles that I found on my shelves:

• The Elements of Style, 3rd ed.
• The Art of Creative Writing
• Woe is I
• Building Fiction
• Writing about Literature
• Writing Without the Muse
• The Lively Art of Writing
• The Oxford Dictionary and Thesaurus
• Encyclopedia Britannica Dictionary

Book Awards Reading Challenge COMPLETED!

I've watched everyone else post their wrap up but then I realized that I too have completed this challenge. I didn't stick with my original list but I did read 12 award winners since July 2007. I enjoyed all of the books for various reasons; some for the writing, some because they made me think, some were just plain inspiring. Here is my list, in order of favorite on down:

Atonement

To Kill a Mockingbird

Beowulf

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch

The Bronze Bow

In the Heart of the Sea

The Age of Innocence

The Old Man and the Sea

Shen of the Sea

Adam of the Road

The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Connor

Love in the Time of Cholera

Review: Child of My Heart

Child of My Heart
by Alice McDermott

Picture this: the sun laying it's warm blanket over your arms and legs as you stand at the edge of the water, burying your feet in the cool, wet sand, looking for seashells in the distance and sailboats on the horizon. You have nothing of importance to do and no where in particular to go. Your days belong to you and whomever you choose to spend them with. There are no burdens like boulders balanced on your back, no cares to crowd your mind. This is exactly the feeling McDermott's writing conveys, a warm, carefree summer at the beach. I wanted to lose myself in that feeling over and over again. But, as in real life, the slow pace and pleasant peacefulness cannot last.

Theresa is 15 the summer she invites her 8 year old cousin to stay with her. "Poor Daisy" as she is frequently called, is the middle most child in a family of 10. Often overlooked because she is well behaved and self reliant, she looks up to Theresa, the only person who really pays attention to her. This summer, Theresa will do everything she can to make this a magical time for Daisy.

Daisy is not the only child Theresa is taking care of. There are the pets she walks and plays with for her rich but absent neighbors, the neglected and rowdy kids next door, and Flora, the toddler she is playing Mother's Helper for for an aging artist and his young wife that has just left town. Theresa enchants them all with her imagination, care and wisdom. But she can only be a temporary distraction from the pain and loneliness of their lives. She is about to come face to face with the real world and all it's heartbreaks.

It was such a joy to read this book, even as I knew what was going to eventually happen to Poor Daisy, even as I hoped that Theresa would not make a certain mistake. What I really felt while I was reading was a peaceful bliss. Theresa spends her summer caring for her charges in just the way I dreamed of caring for my own family when I was younger, before I knew just how hard this job called Motherhood could be. Carefree and able to explore the world around us, with patience and affection. Telling stories and creating a wonderland. The lollipop tree scene was my favorite. I love how Theresa gives Daisy the gift of one fantastic summer, knowing it will be so important someday.

What I didn't like were the adults, whether absent or present. All grown ups were shown as neglectful, selfish, ready to use the helpless children in there lives to further their own desires but completely ignoring the children if they got in the way. It made me sad because I know that there are whole sections of this country that live this way. The children are left to fend for themselves. They cannot rely on their parents or guardians to protect them or even just take care of their most basic needs. The adults are far too busy with their own lives to bother with anyone else's.

While there is the looming question of "what's wrong with Daisy?" it is not the focus of the book. Her problem is never even identified, though it is fairly easy to figure out. The whole point of the book is childhood, or the loss of it. Where is the point where childhood ends and what is the cause of its death? Can it be protected or held on to? Sorry but no. All we can do is hold on to those memories that made childhood enchanting.

I've all ready requested McDermott's award winning novel Charming Billy from PaperBack Swap. I'm curious to see if her writing style changes based on the story or if this is just her way. Either way, Child of My Heart is comfort reading at its best.