January and February Reads ~

JANUARY READS:

By mid January Jammer Time was upon us, so some reading time was given over to play and sleep time!  Still, these were my January Reads - 

Sparks Like Stars - Nadia Hashimi.  Hashimi weaves her story out of the 1978 Afghan coup that resulted in the murder of President Daoud, his family, multiple cabinet members and some of their families. Her main character, Sitara, the daughter of a minister to the president, survived the attack on the Presidential Palace, Arg, as a young girl while the rest of her family and best friend did not. Smuggled out of the Palace by a guard, she ends up being adopted by an American Diplomat.  [The woman who becomes her mother, as well as her adopted grandmother are strong, resilient women and probably my favorite characters.]  Now a surgeon, circumstances cause Sitara to examine the past and deal with her present.  I REALLY enjoyed this book!  But, I actually liked the writer's notes in the back most.  Hashimi, now a pediatrician living in Maryland, herself a child of Afghan parents who immigrated to the United States in the early 70's, acknowledged the complicated and difficult relationship that Afghanistan has long had with the United States.  However, she also reported how much her parents appreciated the good hearted, sincere enthusiasm and humor of the American Peace Corps volunteers who taught them English as a second language in the late 60's.  I firmly believe that her parents and my dear B must have crossed paths then - as he was one of those very Peace Corp members in 1969! 

Dracula - Bram Stoker.  While Stoker's novel was based on a nightmare he experienced after over indulging in a crab dinner (so they say) combined with inspiration from European folk tales of the 15th century Romanian Prince, Vlad the Impaler, his is certainly the premier Dracula story.  Sadly, Dracula has become so ubiquitous in stories and film that it is hard to appreciate the original!  I will also confess that vampires and werewolves as a genre are not my cup of tea. However, I read this at Roo's request and it is well written (duh) with more character development than I anticipated.  I can also see where this novel serves as the inspiration for all the vampire tales that have followed. 

FEBRUARY READS:

I was totally spoiled  here.  This month, B read to me!  

From French Stories, Dual Language Edition - as B spruced up his French - we enjoyed:

Micromegas - Voltaire.  EARLY science fiction, published around 1752, tells the story of two huge aliens - one from Saturn and the other from the star Sirius - who travel to and investigate the perplexing residents of Earth.  Very funny and incredibly knowledgeable about science, math, geography, astronomy.  Most impressed.

The Atheist's Mass - Honore de Balzac.  I loved this one!  The story behind why an esteemed surgeon, but acknowledged atheist, attends mass four times a year.  

The Legend of St. Julian the Hospitaler - Gustave Flaubert.  This story was rather horrifying.  Raising every red flag for those trained in evaluating children, Julian spends his childhood and young adult years enjoying the cruel murder of every animal he can find, ending in the destruction of an entire valley of deer and his being cursed by a stag.  He is then haunted by all the animals he destroyed and believe it or not - it just gets worse from there!!!!  OMG!!!

Spleen of Paris (Three Poems in Prose:  The Old Clown, The Poor Boy's Toy, The Rope) - Charles  Baudelaire.  From a sad clown amid the raucous carnival, to a comparison of a wealthy child versus one pitifully poor, to the suicide of a young boy removed from an impoverished family to work in a wealthy man's home and his mother's reaction - while hard to listen to, Baudelaire tells the stories from the light and dark sides of mid-19th century Paris.

Minuet - Guy de  Maupassant. The story of a man looking back on a time in his youth when he came upon an elderly man, dancing as though upon a stage, in a quiet garden. Was pleased to enjoy a new-to-me short story by Maupassant!  

Death of Judas - Paul Claudel.  Written as a monologue by Judas in which he makes the case that he is the most distinguished and deserving of the disciples.  Made me review the Bible's story of Judas.  Can see how Claudel got church leaders jazzed!

The Return of the Prodigal Son - Andre Gide.  Not the biggest fan of Gide after B read us The Immoralist.  Nor have I ever been particularly fond of the story of the prodigal son.  After reading this, it strikes me that perhaps Gide wasn't either.

Grand-Lebrun - Francois Mauriac.  An ode to reading - poetry in particular.

The Passer-Through-Walls - Marcel Ayme.  I LOVED this story.  We laughed aloud - until we got to the end.  For that I am still sad.

Of course all these writers required investigation!  Lots of reading about their lives ensued, revealing a cast of characters their writings scarcely touched!!  Finally, untreated syphilis don't play in the end, y'all!

Read (or listen if you are so blessed) chaotically! ~ les