Beware of Pity

Stephan Zweig

Beware of Pity surprised me from start to finish. Set during the Austria-Hungry empire just before WWI, Beware of Pity tells the story of Lt. Hofmiller entanglement with the wealthy Kakesfalva family.

Lt. Hofmiller’s trouble begins innocently enough. He’s invited to a dance at Herr von Kakesfalva’s palatial home and is having a grand time. He realizes he hasn’t yet asked Edith, the host’s daughter, to dance. He seeks her out to correct this blunder and in doing so embarrasses this pretty and sensitive young lady, who he didn’t know was lame.

Mortified, Hofmiller flees the party, which turns out to make the matter worse. Perhaps a bouquet with a note will smooth things out. The flowers do yield an invitation to tea, which leads to dinner. Before he knows it, Hofmiller is part of this charming family and gets caught up in Edith’s quest for a cure and her web of romantic, uncontrollable emotions.

The writing is graceful and the plot is full of surprises. I was immediately part of this story.

 

Demon Copperhead

Set in Appalachia, Barbara Kingsolver’s award winning novel parallels Dicken’s David Copperfield. Her hero Demon’s life is a mountain of hardship. He’s born to a teen mother who struggles with substance abuse. When she dies Demon is put into the foster system and his life declines further.

I never read David Copperfield, but have seen a film adaptation. Dickens is a master and David Copperfield is surely a classic. I’ve read his other books, so I’m permit, so I’m confident that this one is also stellar.

However, although the main character Demon (what a name, even tongue in cheek) is sympathetic, and occasionally observant, I confess I didn’t finish this book club choice. It was painful to read, mainly because of the constant onslaught of bad luck and abuse the hero suffers. I’m not a sadist and I felt the author was abusing her readers with this story.

Better books in this vein are Hillbilly Elegy, Educated or Glass Castle, which are all nonfiction and offer hope.

 

Lessons in Chemistry

If I didn’t have to read Lessons in Chemistry for a book club, I wouldn’t have finished it. This story of chemist Elizabeth Zott in the 1950s and 60’s painfully chronicles the prejudice and sexism in that era. Brainy and assertive, Elizabeth was a one dimensional character as were the others in the novel.

Life does have injustice, crime, violence, religious bigotry, death and broken marriages, but packing them into one novel that’s marketed as hilarious didn’t work for me. Nor did the deus ex machina.

 

Yummy: The History of Dessert

I picked up Yummy by Victoria Grace Elliott while working at a middle school library. Filled with facts, it’s a fun romp through the history looking at the origins and evolution of cakes, ice cream, pies, cookies and more. A clever narrator and her two pals explain how from ancient times people sweetened their diet, though with less sugar than we do today.

I learned that:

• There wasn’t a dessert course in earlier times. Our sweets like pie and cake were served in the middle of a meal like the other foods.
• Ice cream began in Ancient Persia, circa 400BC.
• Before the invention of baking soda or baking powder, bakers had to beat batter for an hour to get enough air in it to make it fluffy.
• Medieval bakers’ pie crusts were often two inches thick so the fillings could be preserved for months. Moreover, they sometimes did put live animals and birds like the famous black birds in pies.

Yummy’s a fun, educational micro history and a quick read.

 

Lorna Doone

R. E. Blackmore’s Lorna Doone is the best book. I’ve read this year so far. A friend of mine chose it as the next book we would read together and later discuss online. We’ve been reading a lot of 19th century novels. I’ve heard of Lorna Doone, but I never knew what it was about. Our last book, which I admit, I chose, was disappointing. I was happy to not have to choose the next book. I was quite surprised when I saw that Lorna Doone was over 700 pages.

However, this chunkster delighted me from the start. The narrator and hero, John Ridd, has an exceptional way of looking at the world, and a great wry sense of humor. I was hooked early on when John Ridd compared the noise in another character’s through to the sound of a snail moving along a window sill.

The plot packs, a lot of adventure into this romance. Young John Ridd (12) and his family have a farm in Exmore, an area dominated by the Doone family, long ago the Doone ‘s were landed gentry. They fell on hard times, and for income, they took to band a tree robbing travelers along the highways. Village people and farmers reported the thievery, and to keep them in their place. The dunes killed everyone in that village. Needless to say, other people never crossed the Doones. To make things worse, the dunes killed John’s father when he resisted their thievery.

As the only son with two sisters, a mother and a farm to look after, John takes his fathers place is the The novel’s wit and adventures delighted me. Although Lorna is stereotypical, John and his family including a ne’er-do-well brother in law were well developed adding zest to the story. I didn’t want this novel to end, which is a rarity for books with 700+ pages.

John meets a beautiful girl and is smitten. As luck or literature would have it, this girl is Lorna Doone, the one woman in the world. he should have nothing to do with. When both are grown up their paths cross again and romance, forbidden love ensues.

 

Remarkably Bright Creatures

I finished Remarkably Bright Creatures and was relieved that I can return to reading better books. Remarkably Bright Creatures tells the story of Tova, an old woman whose son mysteriously died years and years ago. To a works the night shift in an aquarium as a cleaning woman. She’s fascinated by the octopus there who’s remarkably bright like all of his species. The mischievous octopus keeps sneaking out of his tank.

The third major character is Cameron, a man in his twenties who can’t handle responsibility. As a child, his carefree mom abandoned him.

All three cross paths and with the help of the sea creature the humans lives are permanently changed.

Despite all the facts about octopi, the contrived plot and ho hum writing left me cold.

 

The New Deal

Jonathan Case’s The New Deal is a satisfactory graphic novel set in the 1930s at the Waldorf Astoria. A bell hop and housekeeper get entangled in a jewelry heist. The bell hop has piled up gambling debts and the housekeeper is an actress who’s just gotten a part in Orson Welles’ production of Macbeth. So there’s a little character development.

The illustrations aren’t anything to write home about, but perhaps that suffices. The book is a fast read, but forgettable.

 

101 Gothic Reads You Might Enjoy

101 Gothic reads from the 18th century onwards. How many have you read? Disclaimer: This is a list the leans into my expertise (18th and 19th century…

101 Gothic Reads You Might Enjoy

 

Caleb Williams

I’d never heard of the 18th century novelist William Godwin until a couple months ago when I read an essay by David Mamet. Mamet mentioned reading Godwin’s Caleb Williams. His mention of the book piqued my interest.

I looked for it at the library and saw that in the whole system of 22 libraries only one had this book. It is available through Penguin Classics, but as I noted, Godwin isn’t a household name.

I have been enthralled by this story. It’s a thrilling page-turner. Caleb Williams is a smart boy from the country who’s lost his family. He is sent to the estate of Mr. Falkland, a wealthy landowner, who’s admired by all who know him. All except Mr. Tyrell, a misanthrope of the first degree. Caleb is grateful to work for such a fine man.

Tyrell detests Falkland. Tyrell is obsessed with his hatred for Falkland and abuses those in his circle who show Falkland any positive regard. A plain-looking relative who’s been orphaned develops a fondness for Falkland and Tyrell abuses her and plans to set her up in a terrible marriage. Hawkins, a farmer, also incurs Tyrell’s wrath. In response Falkland helps these two, which only makes things worse.

Trouble comes to Caleb years after Tyrell is murdered and he accidentally discovers that Falkland isn’t the honorable man everyone believes. When Falkland learns of Caleb’s discovery Falkland is determined to see that Caleb never divulges what he’s learned. He takes this control to a brutal extent and no matter how fervently he begs, Caleb can’t escape Falkland’s control and abuse.

I pitied Caleb and was amazed by his ingenuity to try to escape and his dedication to not let Falkland’s maligning and psychological and legal abuse destroy his outlook.

Caleb Williams is a riveting quest for justice and tale of an innocent man imprisoned. I wish Masterpiece (Theater) would film it.

 

Everyday Sisu

Sisu is a Finnish cultural word that describes a kind of fortitude and resilience that they value in Finland. Since I enjoyed reading The Little Book of Hygge, I thought I’d like this too.

I didn’t. Everyday Sisue should have been a magazine article in my opinion. Instead Katja Pantzar drones on and on about her life and the many steps it takes her to get to one expert or acquaintance who knows a bit about sisu or another. So much is padding here. Zzzzz.

The writing style is average and even if Pantzar felt compelled to talk about her yoga pals or the people she met at a conference, she could tighten up those passages. I acutely felt like she was paid by the word. That’s how it is in some writing work, but here it’s so noticeable.